A bill, first enacted in 1998 and due to run out on November 1, now makes a ban on taxing Internet connections from dial-ups and high-speed DSL to cable modems, permanent.

"Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., described the original moratorium as 'something of an experiment' and declared it a success," says the New York Times here. "Keeping Internet access tax-free will give more people access, he said'."

Quoted in the same story, rep Chris Cannon (-Utah) said: "This bill would broaden access to the Internet, expand consumer choice, promote certainty and growth in the IT (information technology) sector of our economy and encourage the deployment of broadband services at lower prices."

One wonders if it's good news or bad news for Hollywood at a time when it's trying desperately to gain control of how, where and when people access the Net.

Broader access, consumer choice, promote growth, encourage the deployment of broadband...

Cannon obviously did not run his statement past the RIAA for approval, as these are the very things the DMCA was designed to stop.

I'm all for that, people get taxed enough as is.

Hooray for legislators with brains!

No taxes?? did that come from the Government? I need to remember this date for posterity

Lol, who even came up with such an idea, taxes on the net. Insane.

They are talking about taxes from the INDUSTRY selling wares to us VIA the Internet... NOT about a REAL and FAIR tax that NEEDS to be implemented on Internet Access that FAIRLY goes to the creators of content that we all use the Internet to access.

Blanket Licence (instead of all this
sue-U-sue-Me with antique copyright laws that are corrupted by RIAA and Big Business while actual ARTISTS/CREATORS starve bullcrap) anyone?

Tax me %5 of my INCOME and WEALTH for UNFETTERED access to anything available on the Internet. Even if %95 of my %5 goes to just maintaining the fair distribution of those taxes to the creators... the EXPLOITERS would make a mint...

Christ, why can't they get it RIGHT!

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy

You're asking too much of them, Shmoo.
They can't seem to muster up the intelligence to do anything the right way.
Glad to see that we don't get taxed yet again, though.
I'm from the late great state of Indiana, where Govenor O'Bannon taxed us relentlessly while he was in office.
Maybe that's what happened to him.
He taxed us to death...
WABBITMAN

Anyone who suggests that taxing the internet to pay content creators is a good idea, consider how long the tax would remain fair. Lobbyists will constandly demand a raise, and threats of tax rises would be used to scare ISPs into setting up p2p blocks. If lobbying can extend copyright from 28 years to 95, it will have no trouble raiseing the net tax a few orders of magnitude or attempting to force ISPs to actively fight infringement as well as paying for it.

As a poor starving college student, the last thing I need is taxes on internet. Three things would happen:

1.) My school would dump internet access from their computers because of the increased rate. So no internet at school. Currently my computer at home is in need of repair, and therefore I'd be out of internet access.

2.) My roommates and I would ditch our home service because of the required payment. Like I said, starving college guys. What little money we have is spent on food, rent, and stuff like that. (At least my part, I don't think my roommates are as responsible, heh heh.)

3.) As already said, a lot of people would demand higher tax rates and such to gain a bigger profit. Internet use all-around would drop and soon, poof. Internet would almost practically shut down within ten years.

Sure, it sounds extreme, but it could happen.

Hey, wabbitman. I also live in Indiana. Taxes are horrible. The people in Vigo County are almost up in arms about the recent property tax reassessment.

Cudos to the government for not imposing yet another frivoulous tax on us.

it's a really, REALLY good news. I hate taxes as much as I hate RIAA; both taxmen and RIAAites pay much effort to exploit the citizens. While we are here to defeat the RIAA, abolition of as many taxes as possible is the task of other liberty-minded people. Besides, in Poland the news aren't so good; here, the taxes on internet connection would probably be *raised*; we have this horrible VAT in our country, and some of its rates are 7% and 22%; it seems that govt wants to raise VAT, changing the 7% rate for 22% ... It's horrible, everybody should protest it.

In Liberty!!
Critto

Its rather ironic but i wouldnt mind being taxed for my internet connection by the federal government, as long as it went towards the national debt or for the military.

MORE NAVAL POWER!!! MORE MORE MORE!!! hehe

I did some research on this when it was first proposed, and never came up with a clear answer to many questions. Who sets the rate? Does volume (ie multiple connections or MONSTER downloads) matter? Do businesses get a break? Can it be written off? Would it be a "forever" thing, or just year to year, adjusted annualy? Who's in charge of oversight?
Who gets the money?
None of these questions had valid answers in the research I did, and so I would have voted against it. I'm not saying it's wrong per se, I agree with shmoo and a few others that if the money went somewhere meaningful, I'd go for it in some small way.Alas tho, as I read more, I found out this had the danger of becoming yet another government funded slush fund for somebody OTHER than the government. It would have enevitably deteriorated into such a fund, and after a few years, the companies that weren't seeing any money would have been screaming to the gov't to give THEM a piece of the pie. So... to be short, I'll say that I'm glad this died, and that it should have the good grace to stay buried.
ttmmm