Talk about whether to tax purchases on the Internet is getting testy, and Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt is in the middle of the fray.

On Wednesday, fellow Republicans threw several roadblocks in front of Leavitt's drive to help states collect tax on sales over the Internet -- and even accused Leavitt's helpers of clumsily trying to spy on them.

A flurry of actions this week on the issue show players in the Internet issue puffing their chests and drawing lines in the sand in preparation for a meeting in San Francisco next month where a commission will gather to debate whether Internet sales should be taxed.

On Wednesday, House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, introduced a bill to ban such taxes.

Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, chairman of a commission reviewing e-commerce issues for Congress, has also formally opposed them.

Leavitt also sits on the commission and has emerged as a leader among his peers. Back home in Utah, he stopped short of name-calling on the no-tax proposals but said taxation has to be fair.

Take a visit to the grocery store, Leavitt said. Under proposals like Kasich's and Gilmore's, you'd have three checkout stands; two would require Sam Shopper to pay sales tax and one would not.

"It makes no sense," Leavitt said. "No one likes taxes, but if we're going to have them, they should be fair."

Leavitt said he will formally announce his own proposal to allow such taxes next week before the National Press Club in Washington.

His plan will detail how a multi-state retailer like Wal-Mart could have taxes calculated and collected by a "trusted" third-party. "The system would be dramatically simplified, and entirely voluntary" he said.

His proposal was developed with support of seven state and local government organizations, he said.

Meanwhile, a national coalition of anti-tax groups called a press conference Wednesday to endorse Kasich and Gilmore's stands -- and preview their own presentation to the e-commerce commission in opposition to Internet sales taxes.

One of the groups, Americans for Tax Reform, said they caught aides to Leavitt in a silly attempt to spy on them.

Ron Nehring, director of national campaigns for that group, said a woman left a message on his phone Tuesday claiming to be a George Washington University student who was researching a paper on Leavitt.

But she left a call-back number 1-202-624-5301 -- which Nehring said he recognized as a number for the National Governors Association, of which Leavitt is chairman this year.

When he called her back, he said she again claimed to be a student writing a paper about Leavitt -- and asked if she could attend the group's press conference on Wednesday.

"When I asked if she worked for the NGA, she said no," Nehring said. "Then she coughed for about 30 seconds and there was a long pause. . . . I told her to tell the people who told her to call that the press conference is for credentialed media only. She said, 'OK.' She didn't say anything like, 'No I really am a student.' "

Is Leavitt sending out spies?

"The answer is no," said Vicki Varela, Leavitt's deputy chief of staff in Utah. "That's not the way the governor handles himself."

With no knowledge of the incident, she said she can't comment on the specific allegations. "The governor is known for his forthrightness and his directness and that's how he does his business."

Leavitt has long argued that residents are supposed to pay "sales and use" tax on all items they buy. However, they rarely report and pay it for items they buy from out-of-state companies via the Internet or through mail-order catalogs.

He says that puts traditional "Main Street" businesses at a disadvantage, because they by law must collect sales tax -- making items they sell more expensive overall. Leavitt has advocated forming a system to allow national collection of sales tax from Internet retailers, and then redistribute it to states.

But Kasich said Wednesday, "The explosive growth of e-commerce represents nothing short of a second Industrial Revolution. The biggest threat to this growth is the possibility of government treating the Internet like a cash cow."

"Despite this growth, e-commerce is still in its infancy," he added. "It needs to be nurtured by entrepreneurs, not choked off by government."

Meanwhile, Gilmore said Tuesday as he opposed Internet taxes that "America must enhance the Internet and the new economy by adopting pro-growth tax policies and changing the way government does business."

But Leavitt says Gilmore is really suggesting the federal government pre-empt ability of state and local governments to do their jobs on the Internet tax issue. "I think that is a serious mistake."

And the e-Freedom Coalition -- a group of 20 conservative and anti-tax groups opposing Internet sales taxes -- called Wednesday to prevent states from exporting "their tax collecting regimes to other states."

Eric Schlect, with the National Taxpayers Union, said at the coalition's press conference, "Governments are not starved for revenues, they're just hungry for more cash cows."

"Taxing the Internet isn't about helping Main Street, or promoting tax equity, or funding essential services," he said. "It's about greed. The e-Freedom Coalition has a better plan that helps consumers, not bureaucrats."