Cox Internet bill passes House

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- A local congressman’s bill to limit taxes on the

Internet sailed through the House of Representatives on Tuesday on a

unanimous vote.

The bill, written by Rep. Chris Cox, now heads to the Senate, where it

must pass before moving to President Bush’s desk.

The bill, known as the Internet Non-Discrimination Act, would extend a

three-year ban on “discriminatory” taxes on the Internet by local and

state agencies. A Cox bill put the moratorium in place three years ago.

“This unanimous, bipartisan vote sends a strong signal to the Senate

to pass this bill quickly,” Cox said in a statement. “Congress must act

now to disarm the tax collectors who target the Internet for

discriminatory tax treatment.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is pushing similar legislation through the

Senate.

If Bush doesn’t sign the bill by Sunday, the moratorium would expire.

The Cox-Wyden bill would extend the ban until Jan. 1, when it would be

extended until 2003 if it becomes law.

In June 1998, a bill written by Cox and Rep. Rick White (R-Wash.)

imposed the three-year ban. Cox had initially hoped to install an

indefinite ban.

The bill would lock out more than 30,000 local and state agencies that

could lay claim to the Internet as a new source of revenue for their

coffers.

New taxes could further hurt a high-tech sector already weakened by a

slow economy, Cox said.

“The truth is that our whole economy has slowed down, not least of all

the tech sector,” Cox said. “So it is vitally important as we seek to put

the nation’s economy back on its feet that we not backslide on this wise

policy that we adopted three years ago.”