Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act

INTERNET TAX NONDISCRIMINATION ACT

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I will be very brief. We have had 3 full days of debate on the Internet tax question. I am hopeful we will be able to get cloture on the McCain substitute.

If the Alexander proposal, the alternative, is accepted, all across this country folks who now get a message that says "You've got mail," will get a message that says "You have special taxes."

What Senator Allen and I have done over the last 3 days on the floor of the Senate is outline, under the Alexander proposal, the scores and scores of local jurisdictions that would be able to impose these special taxes on electronic commerce.

Over the last 7 years, we have heard these State and local projections by governmental bodies about how revenue would be lost. In each instance, colleagues, they have not come to pass. In 1997, for example, the National Governors Association said that our Internet tax freedom bill would cause the virtual collapse of the State and local revenue system. That next year revenue went up $7 billion.

All we are trying to do in the McCain compromise, and it is, in fact, a compromise-Senator Allen and I have sought a permanent ban on multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. We are compromising now so that it is a 4-year proposal. We have made it clear to the other side regarding telephone calls made over the Internet, the way in which those are handled and taxed would not be changed. So this is a compromise proposal.

We have had 3 days of debate. It doesn't involve sales taxes or property taxes or utility taxes or any other kinds of taxes. This is a question of whether there ought to be double taxation on something folks have already paid for, and that is Internet access. I hope we will be able to invoke cloture on the McCain substitute and be able to go on with the amendment process. We have had 3 full days of debate. I compared it to prolonged root canal work because I know this is not inherently the most fascinating subject. I hope today we can invoke cloture on the McCain substitute and get about the task of amending and passing the bill, and I yield the floor.