National Taxpayers Union applauds today’s passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, included in H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. Its passage will permanently ban state and local governments from applying access taxes to the Internet.
NTU has worked tirelessly for nearly a decade to ensure that taxpayers are not forced to pay yet another tax on their telecommunications services. A January 2016 poll conducted by Harris Poll for NTU showed that a four in five—or 83 percent—of Americans agree that Congress should continue to ban taxes on Internet access. Upon passage, National Taxpayers Union Executive Vice President Brandon Arnold issued the following statement:
Today the Senate passed an important bill that prevents government tax collectors from setting up tollbooths on the information superhighway. The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act will help to achieve the goal of making Internet access affordable for Americans all across the country. This marks an enormous win for taxpayers and consumers, and we applaud the Senate for sending this critical measure to President Obama's desk.
The Internet Tax Freedom Act was originally passed in 1998 under the Clinton Administration and has been temporarily extended seven times since then. H.R. 644, more commonly known as the U.S. Customs bill, passed today 75-20 with bipartisan support throughout the Senate.