FC: Senate may -- or may not -- have struck a Net-tax deal

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Thu Jun 14 2001 - 13:15:16 PDT

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: Ex-GOP senator's wife pleads to email attack campaign"

    Two articles that rely on the USA Today report this morning:
    http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/06/14/technology/net_taxes/
    http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,2171,4_784701,00.html
    
    But Newsbytes reports this afternoon that there's no deal after all:
    http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166855.html
    
    *******
    
    Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 16:09:57 -0400
    To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private>
    From: James Plummer <jplummerat_private>
    
    You may want to send this article to Politech.  The Senate and, apparently, 
    the President are laying the groundwork for a sales-tax cartel that will 
    keep track of what consumers buy online in government-mandated databases.
    
     From http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/washphoto.htm
    
    06/13/2001 - Updated 11:15 PM ET
    Senators reach Internet tax deal
    By Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY
    WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators have reached a deal that would extend a 
    moratorium on new Internet taxes until 2006 but open the door to increased 
    collection of existing sales taxes that now go largely unpaid on Internet 
    and catalogue sales.
    
    The bipartisan compromise would not immediately change the status quo, 
    under which most consumers making purchases over the Internet and through 
    catalogues avoid paying sales taxes.
    
    "No one is talking about imposing new taxes on anyone," Sen. Byron Dorgan, 
    D-N.D., said.
    
    But in a concession to state and local governments that rely on sales taxes 
    for about one-third of their revenue, states would have five years to 
    simplify their sales tax-collection systems. If Congress approves the plan, 
    taxes on almost all Internet and catalogue purchases would then be collected.
    
    [...]
    
    James Plummer  jplummerat_private
    Policy Analyst, Consumer Alert
    Phone: 202-467-5809
    Fax: 202-467-5814
    
    
    
    
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
    You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
    To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
    This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Jun 14 2001 - 13:22:07 PDT