Max Baucus: “I support the Internet Tax Freedom Act. This bill represents a reasonable compromise. We should enact it. A tremendous…”

“I support the Internet Tax Freedom Act. This bill represents a reasonable compromise. We should enact it. A tremendous amount of work went into this bill. I commend the Commerce Committee for its effort to resolve some of these complex issues. In particular, I commend Chairman McCain and Senator Hollings for working to bring parties together and develop a common-sense bill. Importantly, the bill extends the moratorium for 4 years. Some argue that this is too long, and others believe that the tax moratorium should be permanent. Four years represents a reasonable compromise. Four years will allow us to revisit unresolved issues in the future. Next, the bill allows States to continue tax telecommunications if they decide they want to. The bill makes clear that when phone lines are carried over the Internet in the future using Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, States will still be able to assess telecommunications taxes on that service.”