Internet Access Tax Ban Up For Renewal Again, But The Push To Make It Permanent Remains

from the doing-some-good-for-a-change dept

We've noted in the past how every once in a while, some good internet laws turn up, even though they're still far outweighed by the bad ones. One of the good laws has been the moratorium on taxes on internet service, which keep states from increasing the total cost of internet access for consumers. The only hiccup, though, is that this ban has never been made permanent, mostly thanks to the objections of the states. The current moratorium expires November 1, and discussions to extend it or make it permanent are ongoing. While there's bipartisan support for keeping internet access bills free from the morass of taxes and regulatory recovery fees that plague telephone and cable TV bills, a lobbying group representing the states say they current ban should only be extended temporarily, so that legislators can "return to this issue and make sure we've gotten it right." It's not entirely clear why they can't "get it right" now, particularly as two bills that would make the ban permanent have already been introduced in the House. What's heartening about the discussion, though, is that it seems to focus on legislators' desire to make the ban more broad, potentially covering backbone services and even basic cable. For the time being, the worst-case scenario appears to be that the taxes are banned for four more years, but it looks like there's too much momentum behind the ban eventually becoming permanent to stop it at this point.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: congress, isps, taxes


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    discojohnson, 27 Jul 2007 @ 2:06pm

    truly hidden fees are "better" anyhow

    i think that as long as i get a bill that is more or less flat without regulatory fees added on is best. they may need a USF-type fee put on it, but it's part of the 39.99 i'm being billed, the way it *should* be. if you need more money to support the infrastructure, then charge more! don't lie to me by tacking on another $15/mo in extra fees (see also: power companies)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2007 @ 2:11pm

    What a bummer...

    That does suck when you see that $15/mn on your bill and it is listed at "Fees and Services". What fees and services?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    500CID, 27 Jul 2007 @ 2:32pm

    No thanks.. if passed, I'll cancel service...

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.