Internet access to remain tax-free
February 11, 2016
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, released the following statement after the Senate passed legislation he cosponsored to permanently ban state and local taxes on Internet access.

Reliable and affordable Internet access is essential for Missourians who rely on the web for everything from education to banking to staying connected to friends and family, Blunt said. The Internet is also a major driver of economic growth and job creation, and Im glad the Senate acted today to help sustain that growth and protect families by permanently keeping Internet access tax-free.

Since 1998, theres been broad, bipartisan agreement that households and businesses shouldnt be taxed on their access to the Internet by local authorities. Until now, the ban on state and local access taxes hasnt been permanent creating uncertainty for families and small businesses alike. Todays vote makes good policy permanent, and provides Missourians and people across the country with certainty that their access to the digital world will never be subject to state and local taxes. Just as important, todays vote ensures that electronic commerce will not be subject to multiple or discriminatory taxes by the estimated 10,000 state and local tax jurisdictions across the country.

Blunt is an original cosponsor of S. 431, the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act, which was included in the conference report to accompany H.R.644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, that passed the Senate earlier today.

S. 431 amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access, and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. The Internet Tax Freedom Act was originally enacted in 1998 and has been extended eight times.

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