Ayotte Renews Support for Permanent Ban on Internet Access Taxes

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today announced she is co-sponsoring the bipartisan Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act (ITFA), which would permanently extend the current ban on Internet access taxes. Ayotte introduced similar legislation last Congress and has helped lead efforts in the Senate to keep the Internet free from onerous tax requirements. The Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act, which was introduced this week by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), would prevent state and local governments from imposing new taxes on Internet access while prohibiting any multiple or discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. The current ban expires on September 30, 2015.

"The Internet is free from burdensome tax restrictions, and that's why e-commerce is thriving. Unfortunately, tax collectors see it as a new revenue source, and they must be stopped," said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. "This legislation would provide certainty to the marketplace and help ensure the Internet remains a driving force for jobs and growth."

The original ITFA, authored in 1998, put in place a moratorium preventing state and local jurisdictions from imposing new taxes on the Internet and multiple and discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. While Congress has reauthorized the law five times since its enactment, the Thune-Wyden bill would make the moratorium permanent.

Ayotte has also fought to protect New Hampshire Internet businesses from online sales tax requirements, and she has congressional opposition to the mis-named "Marketplace Fairness Act," which would require Internet businesses to collect sales taxes for nearly 10,000 jurisdictions across the country.

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