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No Vote On Internet Tax Ban Yet

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

September 28, 2007, 11:21 AM

Bush Administration officials are urging lawmakers to make the ban on taxing access to the Internet permanent, however a vote on the matter was struck down Thursday.

Earlier in the week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Commerce Secretary Carlos Guiterrez issued a joint statement saying that preventing taxation would "help sustain and environment for innovation" and would "strengthen the foundations of electronic commerce."

The current tax moratorium will expire on November 1, although the legislation that was to be discussed Thursday would have extended the ban until 2011. The first ban was put in place in 1998 and expired in 2003, although it was reinstated in 2004.

Without any reasoning, Commerce Committee chairman Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii) said no vote was happening. Some say continuing tensions between those who want to make the ban permanent and those who only support a temporary extension may be to blame.

Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), a supporter and author of the permanent ban, criticized Democrats for not moving forward with the legislation. "I just don't understand the continued delay in action. The clock continues to tick, placing Internet tax freedom in real jeopardy."

Inouye had no immediate comment on the bill or his decision to not hold a vote.

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By cousinkix1953

posted Oct 2, 2007 - 6:04 AM

Ford and Carter were the only American presidents, who did not start wars and invade foreign countries!!!

Democrats invaded Vietnam in 1961. More than 58,000 people died by the time the US military left the jungles in 1975. The Republicans invaded Iraq twice. We're still there, even though Osama bin Laden is hiding in the mountains of Pakistan.

An idiot believes that either major US political party is not into war mongering and invading other nations. They call each other names like a bunch of hypocrites!

The same people who say, "get out of Iraq" are 8itching because they can't invade Dar Fur instead! Its time to vote for a third party if you're really sick of this military intervention crap...

Score: 0

By jimoer

edited Oct 1, 2007 - 1:17 AM

the need for our country to do something for us.. the people.. instead of always what you can do for your country is a two way road.. the the issue here, Give the people something tax free for once.. forever..

Score: 0

By aredo

posted Sep 30, 2007 - 7:37 AM

Democrats want to add taxes of any kind, including this one on internet access. '68 socialists/noglobal/neo-communists main idea is to always add more and more taxes, keep raising taxes. That's the whole Left Wing political argument worldwide, increasing burocracy and taxes.

Score: 0

By t_guy

posted Oct 2, 2007 - 2:47 AM

The reason we have to such high taxes is to pay for wars the republicans keep getting us into.

Score: 0

By AaronDobbins

posted Oct 1, 2007 - 10:12 AM

I am about tired of this "tax and spend" BS about democrats. At least us "liberals" didn't lie about a war that is costing the American people more than any internet commerce tax increase. You want to talk about tax and spend? I point to my previous statements that at least democrats find a source of income before spending. This republican administration has just freely spent without regard to where the money will come from.

Where do you think it is going to come from eventually? Our pockets! And not the pockets of the people who can afford it since the republicans just want to cut taxes like the capital gains tax and the death tax (that affects relatively few). That means making up for this administrations debt will come from those hard workers who actually have to pay taxes instead of spreading the burden with those who sit around and spend grandpa's money.

Score: 0

By ingram091

edited Sep 29, 2007 - 2:17 AM

looks like it may be time to start a pirate wifi network supported by millions of users around the world in order to tell these politicians this is not a move we will accept. I hear there are a ton of UHF transmitting systems about to be forcibly shut down by the FCC in order to go digital. sounds like a good frequency to hijack world wide ultimately making the government and all their efforts to steal this frequency band from the public moot... and Maintain a secure and free Internet from Government censorship and control through biased taxation.

Score: 0

By Treize

posted Sep 29, 2007 - 1:30 AM

The only differences between the GOP and the Dems are that the Dems tax and spend, and the GOP just spends without the taxing.

Score: 0

By zridling

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 7:47 PM

Not to worry about this one. This is one of those votes that everyone likes to be on record voting for. Besides, congress is too busy taking vacations, raising their pay and pensions to bother with the people's business. And for the record, it was the repub congresses and 34 repub legislatures among the states that voted over and over to allow states to tax internet commerce at their pleasure. Clinton established this no-tax bill and the repubs have created so many loopholes that it stinks.

Score: 0

By AaronDobbins

edited Sep 28, 2007 - 2:51 PM

Yea, the democrats should be more like the republicans and just spend money without worrying where it is going to come from later. $2 billion a week in Iraq with no real way to pay for it except for borrowing money from China. I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

"Tax and spend democrats"...this after 7 years of a Bush administration that has made no effort to curb spending by its own party on bridges to nowhere and all sorts of other nonsense. Not to mention starting a war that was going to pay for itself in six months with oil revenue that turned out to cost US taxpayers half a billion dollars...so far.

While I agree they should make the ban permanent, just because you don't approve of tax breaks doesn't mean you are a tax and spend liberal or democrat. Some people actually want to know that we have the money before spending it. If I recall, last time we were in good financial shape was when a DEMOCRAT named Clinton left the White House with a surplus.

That evaporated quickly when Bush and his cronies decided to go to war. Then they decided to incentivize New Orleans renewal which clearly has gone well. Yea, no waste there at all.

Score: 0

By xyzcb1

posted Sep 29, 2007 - 9:47 AM

"$2 billion a week in Iraq with no real way to pay for it except for borrowing money from China."

What are you talking about? US needs to borrow money from China to fund the way? You don't think our printing press is working? After all, the Fed get rid of M3. M3 is money supply, so now we can print how ever much we need. No need to borrow, just print and inflations goes up. Of course, the government has been telling us no inflations so far.

Score: 0

By Bogunch

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 12:30 PM

There is no way the Democrats are going to agree to a permanent ban. They will eventually need to tax access to the internet to pay for their next BIG "give-away" program.

Score: 0

By t_guy

posted Oct 2, 2007 - 2:50 AM

The REAL big give away is all the money spent for contractors in Iraq and the billions of missing government money. If you have a problem with taxes, then stop voting for republican corporate welfare.

Score: 0

By imafurby

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 5:16 PM

like 5 grand for every kid.

Score: 0

By pitdingo

edited Sep 28, 2007 - 5:01 PM

Or to try and bail out the treasury from the Bush administration financially ruining the country from the total lie that is Iraq.

How many people have died from his lies?

Score: 0

By imafurby

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 5:15 PM

Oh not that again! That damned illegal, lying, stinkin', George Bush war. Honestly, go peddle this stuff somewhere else will ya?

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

edited Oct 1, 2007 - 12:11 AM

like the bush bashing stuff or not, he has a very valid point.
God help whoever has to run that country for 4 years after bush

Score: 0

By tnculp

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 1:14 PM

Don't worry, they will get the internet community on board by saying they'll use that money to combat global warming.

Score: 0

By billweh

posted Sep 28, 2007 - 1:59 PM

Nothing like the good old tax and spend Democrats. They see all that money that could be going to more worthless causes and are drooling over the thought of it.

Score: 0

By AaronDobbins

posted Oct 1, 2007 - 10:15 AM

YES! Let's rape the planet some more! I mean come on, that yellow cloud over LA has nothing to do with our environmental policy. I tell you what, if it weren't for those "liberals" in congress, no one would even be able to breathe in LA without a hazmat suit. And we'd still have 5 year old working in coal mines without any standards.

Sure, the destruction of the planet may not happen in our lifetime, but what about your kids? or grandkids? You don't care that you leave behind a planet and an economy that is in better shape than when you started?

Morons.

Score: 0

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