Democrats fail (at least for now) to protect Net users from taxes
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Democrats have had since January to schedule a vote on a bill that would protect Internet users from access taxes. They still haven't done so, and a temporary moratorium expires in just a few weeks.
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Congressional Democrats and the Treasury Department disagree over the amount of unpaid taxes that could be collected.
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By Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Sep. 5--A couple times in this space I've wondered aloud why La Crosse doesn't have a taxpayer watchdog group if taxes are really as high as people say.   Well, ask and ye shall receive.
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(InfoWorld) - Three Republican U.S. senators on Thursday called on Congress to pass a permanent Internet tax ban before a moratorium expires Nov. 1. The current Internet tax moratorium, which Congress has extended twice since 1998, bans taxes on Internet access, as well as other taxes unique to the Internet. It's important for Congress to pass a permanent ban soon before state and local governments begin to tax Internet access, said Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican. Those who wonder what impact Internet taxes could have should look to U.S. telephone and mobile phone bills, where taxes are up to 20 percent of the cost, McCain said. "We cannot allow that to happen to the Internet -- likely the most popular invention since the light bulb," McCain said at a press conference. Several senators, many of them former state governors, have opposed a permanent extension of the tax ban. Earlier this year, Senators Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, introduced a bill that would narrow the moratorium's definition of Internet access and extend the ban for four years. That bill would close what supporters have called a loophole allowing telecom providers to argue that voice and other services bundled with Internet service shouldn't be taxed. In addition, nine states that were allowed to maintain their Internet taxes would lose a total of up to $120 million a year under a House of Representatives version of the moratorium extension, The National Governors Association has argued. The House version of the moratorium bill strips these states' exemptions. If Congress makes the ban permanent, nothing would stop Internet providers from trying to expand the number of untaxed services, David Quam, director of federal relations for The National Governors Association, said in June. "The temporary provision keeps everyone honest," Quam said then. But Senator John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican, argued Thursday that a permanent ban is needed. If there's a problem with bundled services, that can be worked out in the bill, he said. The Internet is "critically important to interstate and global commerce," Sununu said. "It makes no sense to have a national and global communications and business network to be subject to taxes by every state, city, and county in the country." The news conference came a day after the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, an advocacy group, sent letters to Congress calling on lawmakers to extend the tax ban. New Internet taxes would hurt telecommuters and home-based businesses, the group said. Supporters of a permanent ban say it will help more U.S. residents connect to the Internet, a policy goal of many lawmakers. Asked if they would support another temporary tax ban, the three Republicans rejected that option. "If it's the right thing to do, we ought to make it permanent," said Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican.
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President Bush is going all the way to get amnesty for the phone companies who assisted the government in what appear to be illegal wiretaps of American citizens.  The Senate, even though it's controlled by Democrats, went with this nonsense (roll call). The House acted as a firewall, and voted for FISA renewal without amnesty. Good for them. Among the Presidential candidates, Obama voted against amnesty (thanks), McCain voted for, as did all other Republicans, and Clinton didn't vote, even though she was in DC and could have.
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The networkâs charge for access to content over the Internet has been troubling.
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A proposal to let more lawmakers see income tax returns is going to stay alive into December, thanks to Democratic complaints over how the one-sentence provision was stuffed into a gargantuan spending bill.
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Congress acted yesterday to block state and local governments from taxing connections that link consumers to the Internet for the next three years.
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The bill to ban state and federal levies on all types of connections for three years now goes to Bush. By Mary Dalrymple. WASHINGTON -- Congress acted Friday to block state and local governments from taxing
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The Democratsâ growing dominance in securing contributions online is reshaping the 2008 elections.
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More data = more damage, when breached Silicon Justice The US Congress is trying to land a one-two sucker punch on internet service providers (ISPs).â¦
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I just read an article on the Village Voice website that summed up one of the complaints I have had for some time about the Democratic Party: They won't fight.  At the same time, they are trying to convince conservative voters to vote for them instead of the Republicans and are losing votes on the liberal side as a result.   For both of these problems, I blame the Democratic Leadership Council.
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The run-up to November elections means that even if Congress takes another crack at Net neutrality and related broadband legislation when it returns from a month-long recess next week, some observers don't expect either bill to pass.
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President George Bush on Friday signed into law a three-year moratorium on Internet access taxes. The law extends a ban on Internet taxes that expired on November 1, 2003.
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A House Republican is pushing a measure that echoes a long-sought Bush administration goal: to require all Internet service providers to keep records on their subscribers.
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Mr. Dodd goes to Washington, and wins. The Connecticut senator and Democratic presidential candidate threatens to filibuster a bill giving immunity to telecoms that helped the government spy on Americans, prompting it to be dropped until next year.
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Congress still has a laundry list of things to accomplish. For Democrats, that includes proving they are capable and productive. For Republicans, it includes proving that the Democrats are not.