Haley Stevens: “since its inception, the Internet has provided a powerful economic boost to our Nation, especially in rural areas. It…”

“since its inception, the Internet has provided a powerful economic boost to our Nation, especially in rural areas. It has become an important everyday tool for millions of Americans, a valuable educational resource, and a powerful mechanism for communication. To ensure the Internet's benefits are available to as many people as possible, Congress should reduce obstacles to broadband access. One way to accomplish this goal is to prevent taxes from being imposed on Internet access, because such taxes will only drive up the overall cost of the use of the Internet. The Internet Tax Freedom Act, first passed by Congress in 1998, established a moratorium on State and local governments' ability to tax Internet access. Extended in 2004, that moratorium will expire on November 1--less than 2 months from today. Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to extend the Internet tax moratorium. I have been supportive of such legislation and expressed support when the Senate Commerce Committee explored the issue at a hearing on May 23 of this year. Our chairman, Senator Inouye, has been very supportive of the concept of keeping taxes off the Internet. Tremendous investment, growth, and innovation in broadband deployment has occurred since the moratorium was first adopted. In order for this progress to continue, Congress should extend the Internet tax moratorium before it expires this fall.”