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CCAGW Holds Coalition Press Conference For PITFA PassageToday, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President Tom Schatz, and a coalition representing 45 nonpartisan organizations, held a press conference urging the Senate to pass the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA), which is currently embedded in the conference report for H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. PITFA would permanently ban Internet access taxes. Schatz's prepared remarks read in part: "In 1998, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which imposed a temporary ban on taxes on Internet access, as well as duplicative or discriminatory taxes on the Internet. This moratorium has been essential to the tremendous growth of the Internet and new technologies. The seventh extension of the moratorium is due to expire on October 1, 2016. On December 11, 2015, the House passed H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, commonly known as the Customs bill, which included a provision to permanently ban Internet access taxes. The Senate has yet to consider either H.R. 644 or S. 431, the Internet Tax Freedom Forever At, introduced by Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ron Wyden (R-Ore.), which would also make the moratorium permanent. According to the International Telecommunications Union, by the end of 2014, 87.4 percent of individuals in the U.S. accessed the Internet. An increasing number of schools and universities require students to access the Internet on a daily basis both in the classroom and at home. At the high school level, more and more teachers are calling upon students to pull out their Smartphones and look up information. While the ban has helped stimulate economic growth, its expiration would have the opposite effect. Telecommunications taxes are often more than double the rate of tax imposed on other goods and services. A September 30, 2015 report by the American Action Forum found that lifting the ban on Internet access taxes could cost consumers up to $16.4 billion annually. It is imperative for the Senate to pass legislation to make the Internet tax moratorium permanent, and we urge the Senate leadership to immediately act on H.R. 644. Consumers would then not have to worry about additional taxes being lopped onto their Internet services, and the Internet will remain a stable driving force for the future economic growth of the nation." The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160204006002/en/ |
