Web Tax Triumph

Trust me , folks. This is a huge victory against those in local, state and federal government who are constantly looking to pick your pocket. Taxing your internet use has been a gleam in their eyes, adding to the already onerous over-taxation of basic phone and cable tv.

Tax creep is insidious, but understandable. When income is based solely on revenue from taxpayers as that of politicians, bureaucrats, most liberals is, then they are highly motivated to seek tax increases. Of course there are many reasons why redistribution of wealth is the touchstone of American liberals, but they are fighting an uphill battle as long as we all stay informed. The internet and the blogosphere have been awesome weapons in the fight.

For now, one battle has been won. From today's Wall Street Journal:

October 26, 2007; Page A16

Internet consumers scored a victory in Washington last night, thanks to Senator John Sununu (R., N.H.), with big assists from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden. The Senate passed a seven-year extension of the Internet tax moratorium, with robust language that should stiff-arm even the most voracious state and local governments looking for loopholes to tax your email.

Mr. McConnell created negotiating leverage by forcing on to the Senate schedule a vote on Mr. Sununu's permanent Net tax ban. The last thing moratorium opponents wanted was to face an up-or-down vote on a permanent ban, which is why they recently cancelled a committee vote when it became clear they had underestimated the popularity of the tax moratorium. That's also why you can now ignore the letter on the preceding page, in which Senators Tom Carper (D., Del.) and Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) sing the praises of their short, loophole-ridden "moratorium" bill. They junked it last night and scrambled aboard the Sununu steamroller.

While accepting less than a permanent ban, Mr. Sununu and his pro-Internet allies won additional provisions authored by Mr. Wyden to protect consumers. A report yesterday from the Congressional Research Service revealed that the House had botched the drafting of its four-year extension by leaving open the possibility of new taxes on email services if they weren't marketed along with Internet access service. Kudos to Senators Sununu, McConnell and Wyden. If the House, as expected, passes the Senate bill early next week, President Bush can sign it into law before the current ban expires November 1.