Douglas Alexander: “So from the point of view of the Federal Government interfering with local governments, we would be making a pretty…”

“So from the point of view of the Federal Government interfering with local governments, we would be making a pretty significant interference there because we would be affording to the Internet access connection a protection that we didn't afford the telephone, that we didn't afford the telegraph, that we didn't afford the purchase of food, the purchase of medicine--anything. If you hook up your Internet, nobody can tax you. That would be our proposal. The other point the Senator from Delaware is making--Delaware in particular has done this--is, say, in the District of Columbia there was a big cable company or big phone company, and the District of Columbia said: We may not be able to tax the connection between Senator Alexander's computer, but we can sure tax the cable company, we can sure tax the telephone company that provides that connection, and they raise the taxes to a very high level for certain of these points along the Internet architecture. I assume it is entirely possible the Governor of Delaware may ride the train down to the District and say: The tax may be 20 percent, but come live with us in Delaware; come to our State; we don't have a right-to-work law; other States do; we don't have an income tax; other States do. We may have a higher corporate tax than other States. States have these differences all the time, and if one State gets out of line, people leave, businesses leave, elections are held and people are thrown out of office.”