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08.11.2001 Bülten - netyorum.com / Sayı: 91
ISOC RECOMMENDS
EXTENSION OF US MORATORIUM ON INTERNET TAXATION
30 October 2001
Washington, DC - The Internet Society (ISOC) today urged the U.S. Congress to
move quickly to extend the moratorium on discriminatory Internet taxes. "There
is a need for the U.S. Congress to take action," said ISOC's President and CEO,
Lynn St. Amour, "to avoid opening a door to damaging and inconsistent regulation
of the Internet in the United States, which could
set a dangerous precedent worldwide."
ISOC is contacting its members in the US to ask them to make known their support
of a continued moratorium to their representatives in Congress. Similarly, the
organization urges its members outside of the US to make their views known about
not taxing Internet use and the need to ensure effective mechanisms to establish
fair taxation in their jurisdictions.
The moratorium was a critically important factor in promoting the growth and
spread of the Internet in the United States, according to ISOC, and it provided
a model to other countries, showing that a suspension of burdensome taxation
could provide widespread benefits. The moratorium ended on October 21, when the
U.S. Senate adjourned without taking action on an extension of the moratorium
that had been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
It is clear, the Society said, that agreement on an effective enforcement and
collection regime among local jurisdictions, let alone international entities,
is still elusive for sales taxes. Realistically, it will take time to reconcile
the diverse range of potential and existing legislations and apply these to the
"borderless" nature of Internet commerce. A continuing moratorium in the United
States is a key factor in allowing time to balance the interests involved.
The Internet Society recognizes that many of the states in the U.S. have lost
tax revenue because of untaxed sales made on the Internet that were formerly
taxed at the retail level. This aspect of the moratorium should clearly be
treated as a temporary measure, allowing careful consideration of new tax
structures that will provide a level playing field of taxation for all types of
commercial transactions, electronic or not.
The Internet Society believes that taxation on use of the Internet would have a
negative effect on its continued growth, and the Society opposes any form of
taxation of this type.
ABOUT THE INTERNET SOCIETY
The Internet Society
http://www.isoc.org/ is a non-profit, non-governmental, open membership
organization whose worldwide individual and organization members make up a
veritable "who's who" of the Internet industry. It provides leadership in
technical and operational standards, policy issues, and education. ISOC hosts
two annual Internet conferences
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/ , trains people from all over the
world in networking technologies, conducts workshops for educators, and
publishes an award-winning magazine, OnTheInternet.
ISOC provides an international forum to address the most important economic,
political, social, ethical and legal initiatives influencing the evolution of
the Internet. This includes facilitating discussions on key policy decisions
such as taxation, copyright protection, privacy and confidentiality, and
initiatives towards self-governance of the Internet. ISOC created the Internet
Societal Task Force as an on-going forum for discussion, debate, and development
of position papers, white papers, and statements on Internet related societal
issues.
ISOC is the organizational home of the International Engineering Task Force, the
Internet Architecture Board, the Internet Engineering Steering Group, and the
Internet Research Task Force - the standards setting and research arms of the
Internet community. These organizations operate in an environment of bottom-up
consensus building made possible through the participation of thousands of
people from throughout the world
CONTACT
David Maher
Vice President, Public Policy
Internet Society
Tel: +1 312 876 8055
Fax: +1 312 876 7934
Email:
dwmaher@attglobal.net
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