Good news for bloggers, e-mailers, web surfers, my-space-ers, mapquesters, e-commerce-ers, instant-chaters, and anyone else who frequently uses the web (basically, everyone). Congress passed and the President will sign an extension to the Internet tax moratorium.
The Internet tax moratorium prevents state and local governments from assessing taxes beyond those levied on simple Internet access. The legislation specifically prohibits taxation on e-mail and instant messaging services "that are provided independently or not packaged with Internet access." (thanks Washington Post)
The ban on Internet taxes was first implemented in 1998 when Congress adopted a 3 year moratorium. It was extended twice, in 2001 and 2004. This time around we get a 7 year extension.
The Internet has changed the way we live our lives. Sites like Facebook and SecondLife change how we interact with each other. New sites like Newsvine and Digg have redone how we get news. Amazon.com started off selling books but you can purchase clothes and housewares there now. Don't like to go to the pharmacy in person? go see drugstore.com. The new compendium of human knowledge isn't the Encyclopedia Britannica anymore but wikipedia.org.
With three-quarter of Americans online and entire industries based upon the Internet and access to the Internet, why does Congress even have a time limit on this moratorium?
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