As the November expiration date nears for a ban on some forms of Internet taxation, the House Committee on Small Business took a look at the issue, hearing testimony from online mom-and-pop shops that are urging Congress to enact a permanent ban on discriminatory and access taxes.
Affordable Internet access — free of the kind of taxes that inundate a typical phone bill — is important to many segments of the economy.
But for small businesses, it could be a matter of survival, Brett Dewey, CEO of Los Angeles-based e-tailer WickedCoolStuff.com, told the committee.
First enacted in 1998 and extended in 2001 and 2004, the ban on Internet access and discriminatory taxes does not preclude states and cities from imposing sales and use taxes.
Instead, it bans access taxes, as well as multiple and discriminatory taxes that would impose a higher levy on online transactions than on brick-and-mortar transactions.
Photo by Scyza.
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