A three-year ban preventing US State and localities from levying new taxes on internet commerce won unanimous approval from the House Commerce Committee on Thursday afternoon. The Committee voted 41-0 to clear the Internet Tax Freedom Act, presented by Republican Congressmen Chris Cox from California and Rick White from Washington. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden’s six- year version of the same bill is still before the Senate. President Clinton endorsed an earlier version of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, saying that the country’s 30,000 tax judiciaries should not be permitted to drain revenues from burgeoning online businesses. States and localities can keep taxes passed before March 1 1998. This provision has been criticized as a loophole, since existing telecommunications and utilities taxes could be extended to net businesses under the clause. The Internet Tax Freedom Act has been referred to two more House Committees, Judiciary and Ways and Means.
