HOUSE VOTES TO EXTEND INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM

By: Jill Carroll States Could Still Collect 'Use Taxes'



(The Hollywood Reporter) WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly
approved keeping the Internet free of new, discriminatory, or
multiple taxes Wednesday, but the debate on Internet sales
taxes is up in the air.



Voting 352-75, the House approved a measure that extends a
moratorium on the three types of taxes until 2006. The moratorium
was first approved by Congress in 1998 for three years.



But the touchy issue of whether to tax sales made on the Internet
was not addressed in the measure. Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.)
who authored the legislation, stressed throughout the approval
process that states can still collect ?use taxes,? currently
applied to catalog sales.



A similar measure has been introduced in the Senate but is still
in committee.



Earlier in the day, the House Commerce Committee approved a
measure that prevented the FCC from charging Internet access
providers by the minute when consumers use their service.
Lawmakers expect those costs to be passed on to the consumer,
making Internet access too expensive.



?So today we begin the process of ensuring that consumers can
continue to have affordable, flat-rate prices for access to
the Internet,? said Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.) chairman of the
committee.



The lawmakers said the door is wide open for the FCC to enact
access charges such as those that already apply to telephone
service.