The House today passed a seven-year extension of the Internet tax moratorium (which expires on Nov. 1) — they had previously passed a shorter version. From Senator Sununu’s office:
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES SUNUNU SEVEN YEAR INTERNET ACCESS TAX BAN
Legislation heads to President’s desk before November 1 deadline
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States House of Representatives today (10/30) passed a ban on Internet access taxes for the next seven years – an amendment authored by Senator John Sununu (R-NH) and first passed by the United States Senate on October 25. The measure, which passed the House by a vote of 402 – 0, heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law two days before the current November 1 moratorium expires.
Sununu said, “It’s great to see Congress act on time for a change and take an enormous step for Internet tax freedom – banning access taxes and protecting e-mails and instant messaging for the next seven years. With House passage of my amendment, the President can sign the bill into law before the current four-year ban expires on November 1. This seven-year ban nearly doubles the House proposal and further strengthens tax protections for e-mails and instant messaging. I will continue to fight for a permanent ban on access taxes, but this is a strong step forward. Taxing the Internet is wrong for consumers and wrong for the economy.”
On Thursday, October 25, the United States Senate reached agreement on Sununu’s measure to ban Internet access taxes for the next seven years – three years longer than the four-year, House-passed bill. The legislation was passed unanimously by voice-vote and sent back to the United States Senate for consideration. The current moratorium on Internet access taxes – last extended in 2004 – will expire on November 1.
Sununu, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has worked consistently to permanently ban taxes on Internet use, introducing the “Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act” with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ron Wyden on the first day to the 110th Congress in January. Previously, Sununu was an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan “Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act” in 2005.
During the 108th Congress, Sununu was original co-sponsor of legislation to permanently ban the Internet from access taxes. Portions of that bill were ultimately incorporated into the “Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act of 2003,” which President Bush signed into law in December of 2004.





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