|
Coalition
Lobbies Against 'Onerous' E-Commerce Taxes by Mary Hillebrand on 11/13/99 of
E-Commerce
Times Topic:
Taxation, Press
Coverage |
I The Advisory
Commission on Electronic Commerce received a proposal from a broad
coalition of anti-tax advocates yesterday that would lump general
telecommunications taxes in with the Internet taxes that many
politicians and consumer groups now oppose.
The E-Freedom Coalition, which consists of the
Heritage Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the
National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens for a
Sound Economy, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, Consumer Alert
and the Institute for Policy Innovation, is seeking a permanent ban
on discriminatory e-commerce sales taxes and Internet access taxes.
The coalition also proposes
that county and municipal governments use a "pro-growth" formula to
adjust sales and use taxes for Internet-related companies with "a
substantial physical presence within the taxing jurisdiction." The
plan is designed to help generate the revenue that communities claim
is being lost from e-commerce's erosion of storefront retail sales.
The proposal, backed by
Advisory Commissioner Dean Andal, would ensure "that Internet users
are free of the onerous tax collection schemes many states and
localities want to impose on companies operating completely outside
of their jurisdiction," the group argues.
Dynamic Debate
In two official meetings and
numerous conference calls since its formation this summer, the
Advisory Commission has focused upon whittling down the many
extraneous issues connected to the question of Internet taxation.
At the same time, the
commission has tried to give a fair hearing to every local
government organization and consumer and business advocacy group
that has an opinion on the issue.
At its third public meeting, slated for December 14th and
15th in San Francisco, California, the commission plans to hear more
proposals from the public on issues it has identified as central to
the tax debate.
Throwing
In Phone Companies
Unlike other anti-tax groups,
the E-Freedom Coalition is also seeking a repeal of the 3 percent
federal excise tax on telecommunications, a ban on discriminatory ad
valorem taxation of interstate telecommunications, and the end of
government-imposed fees for the installation of telecommunications
cables. These fees and taxes, while not directly tied to electronic
commerce, pose a barrier to the growth of e-commerce by forcing
telecommunications companies to spend more money than their
competitors on projects designed to expand the Internet's reach and
efficiency, the coalition argues.
By combining efforts to remove e-commerce sales taxes and
taxes on telecommunications companies that provide the lion's share
of Internet access for U.S. consumers, coalition members say that
they are fighting to knock down all barriers to Internet growth.
"Governments are not starved
for revenues, they're just hungry for more 'cash cows' to fund
wasteful and unnecessary projects," National Taxpayers Union
Director of Congressional Relations Eric Schlecht said. "Taxing the
Internet isn't about helping Main Street, or promoting tax equity,
or funding essential services. It's about greed. The E-Freedom
Coalition has a better plan that helps consumers, not bureaucrats."
Capitol Hill
Rhetoric
Publicly throwing his support behind the
coalition, Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) introduced a bill Wednesday
that would make the current moratorium on Internet taxes in the
United States permanent and would make the nation's stance on such
taxes and discriminatory tariffs in world markets official.
Since these goals have
already been laid out in other bills that are working their way
through Congress, Kasich's bill simply serves to underscore the
growing anti-tax sentiment for the online world. "When it comes to
the growth of business online, any talk about taxes is entirely out
of line," Kasich said.
The
House Budget Committee Chairman's Internet tax views fall in line
with his overall opposition to government-mandated funding of public
technology programs. He has been an outspoken opponent of other
federal initiatives such as the E-Rate, a fee that
telecommunications companies must pay to help fund the expansion of
the Internet to schools and libraries.
"It's more than simply taxes," he said. "We don't
want to create an atmosphere where government at any level becomes
comfortable interfering with e-commerce. There are already too many
instances where politicians feel they have to justify themselves by
enacting countless taxes and endless
regulations." | |
Proposals by Title
All Publications by Author by Date by Organization by Title by Topic |