Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act
Encyclopedia
The Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act, , is the current U.S. federal law that bans Internet taxes
in the United States. Signed into law on December 3, 2004, by George W. Bush
, it extended until 2007 the then-current moratorium on new and discriminatory taxes on the Internet. It also extended the federal prohibition against state and local Internet access taxes until November 2007.
The law's co-authors were Representative
Christopher Cox (R-California
) and Senators
George Allen
(R-Virginia
), and Senator Ron Wyden
(D-Oregon
).
The law was supported by a congressionally sponsored study commission known as the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, which studied Internet taxes in 1999 and 2000. The Commission was chaired by then-Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III, who led a coalition of Commission members to issue a final report opposing taxation of the Internet and eliminating federal telephone taxes, among other ideas.
On November 1, 2007, President Bush signed the "Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendment Act of 2007" into law. It extends the prohibitions against multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce until November 1, 2014. See 47 United States Code Section 151.
Internet taxes
From the inception of the Internet until the late 1990s, the Internet was free of regulation by government in the United States at all levels, and also free of any specially targeted tax levies, duties, imposts, or license fees. By 1996, however, that began to change, as several U.S...
in the United States. Signed into law on December 3, 2004, by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, it extended until 2007 the then-current moratorium on new and discriminatory taxes on the Internet. It also extended the federal prohibition against state and local Internet access taxes until November 2007.
The law's co-authors were Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Christopher Cox (R-California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) and Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
(R-Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
), and Senator Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
(D-Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
).
The law was supported by a congressionally sponsored study commission known as the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, which studied Internet taxes in 1999 and 2000. The Commission was chaired by then-Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III, who led a coalition of Commission members to issue a final report opposing taxation of the Internet and eliminating federal telephone taxes, among other ideas.
On November 1, 2007, President Bush signed the "Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendment Act of 2007" into law. It extends the prohibitions against multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce until November 1, 2014. See 47 United States Code Section 151.