| Bar Internet
taxes, Cellucci urges by Alex Canizares on 02/03/2000 of States News Service Topic: Press Coverage | |
| I Bar Internet taxes, Cellucci urges By Alex Canizares States News Service, 2/3/2000 [ASHINGTON - Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci testified before Congress yesterday against taxing purchases made over the Internet, winning him unusual allies and foes in the divisive debate. ''In order for our nation to continue this record economic growth, we must not build a toll on the information superhighway,'' Cellucci told the Senate Budget Committee. Taxing on-line purchases ''would choke off a burgeoning industry before we experience its full economic benefit.'' Members of Congress, including many Democrats, support Republican Cellucci's antitax stance and are launching legislation that would bar state and local taxes on electronic commerce. Yet many governors and local politicians fear that not taxing on-line purchases would prevent them from tapping a major source of revenue. ''We're like skunks at a garden party,'' Cellucci said of himself and the other GOP governors, Jim Gilmore of Virginia and Bill Owens of Colorado, who oppose a tax. Congress in 1997 postponed the thorny issue of whether to tax Internet transactions made across state lines, with a three-year moratorium. The law also created a commission to decide what type of taxes should apply to the Internet, if any, and how to collect them. The panel, due to report in April, is split. Proponents also say that tracking transactions made over the Internet would be a huge hassle and would deter people from buying goods on line. The National Governor's Association supports taxation. |
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