Douglas Alexander: “Finally, I want to offer another recent article by Harley Duncan and Matt Tomalis, from the Multistate Tax Commission…”

“Finally, I want to offer another recent article by Harley Duncan and Matt Tomalis, from the Multistate Tax Commission, entitled ``The Forgotten First Sentence.'' The definition of Internet access is what is causing a lot of the problem here. We hear a lot about that from the Senator from Ohio and those on both sides of the issue. The problem is, the way the bill is written, it doesn't focus only on the consumer and provider of Internet access, it goes way back up the line and bans the State and local government from collecting taxes on the whole industry, and a whole variety of services that are now part of the State and local tax. Nobody wants to pay taxes on anything, but if we ban those taxes, we raise these taxes. This article helped us to clearly understand how the definition of Internet access is the problem here. I see the Senator from Ohio, a former chairman of the National Governors Association before he was a Senator. He can speak with authority about what happened in 1994 and 1995 because he was a national leader in the movement to persuade Congress to stop unfunded Federal mandates and to pass the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act, which amended our Budget Act. He is a principled man and I am delighted to be working with him on this issue and on others.”