http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5555385.html Congress proposes tax on all data Published: January 28, 2005, 3:50 PM PST By Declan McCullagh An influential congressional committee has dropped a political bombshell by suggesting that a tax originally created to pay for the Spanish American War could be extended to all Internet and data connections this year. The committee, which is deeply involved with writing U.S. tax laws, unexpectedly said in a report on Thursday that the 3 percent telecommunications tax could be revised to cover "all data communications services to end users," including broadband, dial-up, fiber, cable modems, cellular and DSL (digital subscriber line) links. Currently the 3 percent excise tax applies only to traditional telephone service. But because of technological convergence and the dropping popularity of landlines, the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded in its review of tax law reforms, it may make sense to extend the 100-year old levy to new technologies. The committee did not take a position on whether Congress should approve such an extension and simply listed it as an "option." [...] _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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