Senate Introduces Legislation to Keep Internet Access Tax Free

On February 10, Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced S. 431, a bipartisan bill to permanently extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act.  This bill would permanently ban internet taxation in order to ensure the benefits of internet access are readily available.  Last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced the companion bill, Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, H.R. 235, in the House.  

Senator Thune explains:

“For successful 21st century innovators and entrepreneurs, the Internet is their lifeblood. We should be celebrating their success, not taxing the tools they use to achieve it. Our bill, which would permanently ban Internet taxation, would encourage more American innovators and entrepreneurs to use broadband to develop the next big thing, while keeping the Internet open and accessible to consumers across the country. Senator Wyden and I look forward to working with Leader McConnell to bring this bill to the Senate floor.”     

Senator Wyden added:

“I co-wrote the Internet Tax Freedom Act to protect the openness and viability of the Internet as a platform for commerce, speech, and the exchange of ideas.  Without ITFA, access to information would no longer be tax-free. Access to online communication would no longer be tax-free. Access to the global marketplace so crucial to America’s economic future would no longer be tax-free. The cost to consumers could easily be hundreds of dollars a year per household. Now is the time to make this law permanent.”

Americans for Tax Reform supports both S. 431 and H.R. 235 and urges Congress to act swiftly to ensure internet access remains untaxed.   

Co-Sponsors of S. 431 include: