House Approves 7-Year Ban on Internet Tax

The House approved a bill yesterday to bar states from taxing Internet access through 2014

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Bush to sign the bill immediately.

Since 1998, a federal law has prohibited cities and states from taxing most forms of Internet access.

High-speed Internet service providers AT&T, Verizon Communications and Comcast, and Web companies such as Google, had sought a permanent ban but welcomed the seven-year renewal.

The legislation would allow states and cities to continue taxing all forms of telephone and pay-television service, even if carriers bundle those services with Internet access.




SOURCE: Washington Post