Political Quotes

“first let us come back to what we are fundamentally about. What the Internet Tax Freedom Act says is that there shall be a moratorium, a pause, in the State and local governments' exercise of their otherwise legal authority to impose a tax on access to or transactions consummated over the Internet. That is an unusual action. For the Congress of the United States to preempt State and local governments from their otherwise lawful responsibilities to establish what they feel to be appropriate policy for their citizens is an unusual act for the Congress and one which we should only take after careful consideration. Why should we exercise such care? Because the consequences of this action, of establishing a moratorium on the taxation of one form of commerce as opposed to all forms of commerce, is to create or to continue a competitive disparity. In this case, it is the comparative disparity between the Main Street retailer, the person who is selling hardware on Main Street and is legally responsible for collecting a sales tax from those who purchase hammers and saws, and those who buy the same hammers and saws over the Internet where they are not subject to the requirement to pay, and the seller to collect, that same sales tax. That is a level of obvious inequity that we would, only under exception circumstances, impose.”