Jerry Nadler: “Today we consider a matter of vital importance to our Nation's future: how to nurture the development of the Internet…”

“Today we consider a matter of vital importance to our Nation's future: how to nurture the development of the Internet commerce; how to provide a clear and predictable environment for e-commerce, free from multiple and discriminatory taxes, while at the same time protecting our local communities which need revenues to fund schools, to fund emergency services, such as fire and police, and hospitals, and so forth. I take that balance very seriously. In New York Silicon Alley, which I am proud to represent, emerging high-tech firms are on the cutting edge of the new economy. They provide a vital new engine for economic growth and innovation. We need to foster that innovation and ensure its future. For that reason, as the ranking member on the subcommittee, I took a leading role in seeking enactment 2 years ago of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which provided for a moratorium on various taxes on the Internet and established a commission to recommend a rational, fair and predictable system of taxation that placed e-commerce on an equal footing with similar businesses. The purpose was to ensure that the new economy not be stifled by multiple or unfair or discriminatory taxes, and that economic decisions in the private sector, insofar as possible, be made on economic, not tax avoidance grounds so as to maximize economic efficiency productivity, growth and fairness. Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, the commission dropped the ball and could not agree on any approach.”