House Speaker Says Net Tax Moratorium Should Be Extended

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on April 2 said Congress should extend the Internet tax moratorium that "prevents thousands of state and local taxing jurisdictions from using the Internet as a cash cow." The moratorium ends this October. "Rather than slow down the Internet with a slew of new taxes, we must extend the moratorium and allow the Web to reach its full potential."

Hastert went on to note that the Internet tax moratorium does not deal with sales taxes. "Debate on sales tax simplification has gone on since long before the contemporary Internet. If we require that we resolve the complicated issue of sales tax simplification before we extend the moratorium, we risk causing even greater harm to burgeoning e-commerce."

On the issue of privacy, Hastert said, "at this point, I believe it is the Internet technology industry's job to lead when it comes to privacy matters."

For the Speaker's press release, click to http://speakernews.house.gov/library/tech/010202comdex.asp.