| Transcript of statement by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) at press
conference. Re: introduction of S 2028 the Internet Non- Discrimination Act. Date: February 3, 2000. Source: Tech Law Journal. Editor's Notes: |
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Thank you, and this is the fourth bipartisan Cox Wyden effort in three and a half years, and it is also a pleasure to team up with Bob. He is clearly one of the most knowledgeable people in the country on these issues. Once again you see a bipartisan front around the proposition that you cannot stuff the New Economy into a set of rules that were written for a time of smoke stack industry.
When we began, the challenge was, what do you do when you Aunt Millie in Iowa uses America Online in Virginia to order Harry and David pears from Medford Oregon, pay for them with a bank card in California, and ships them to her best friend in Tallahassee.
And what the three of us have been trying to do with the Internet Tax Freedom Act, is just the beginning of it, is the effort to begin to come up with sensible policies for the New Economy. And what Chris said, what is exciting about what has happened since our original law, is that there has been a convergence of the traditional bricks and mortar economy and the New Economy. Recent studies published have found that since Cox Wyden became law 74 percent of the Main Street retailers in this country now have significant online operations as well. So, it is no longer bricks and mortar versus the New Economy. But clearly where we are headed is towards brick and clicks, where we integrate the traditional economy with the New Economy, and that is an exciting development that is good for all concerned.
I do want to take just a minute to report on what happened yesterday on what happened in the Senate Budget Committee. Some of you may be aware that we had a hearing which mirrored to a great extent a lot of the debates that were held in the past.
But, Governor Engler, representing, one who has been concerned about our legislation in the past, said in response to a question that I asked that he personally could support a permanent ban on discriminatory Internet taxes. And I think that is a very promising development, and as a result of it, after the hearing was over, I called up Jim Gilmore, the Governor who of course has been working closely with us, and he heads the Commission.
On the basis of what happened yesterday, and the conversations that I have had with Governor Gilmore, and with administration officials in the last twenty-four hours, I personally am hopeful that the centerpiece of the Advisory Commission's recommendations to us, and they are going to be meeting again on March 18. I am hopeful that the centerpiece of their recommendation will be support for the Cox Wyden legislation that permanently bans discriminatory Internet taxes.
Here is what this means in the real world. Any state or local tax, a state sales tax for example, that is on the books today that doesn't discriminate against the Internet, stays in place. Any new state sales tax, hypothetically, that doesn't discriminate against the Internet can go forward if otherwise lawful. What Cox Wyden IV is about is one principle: you cannot stick it to the online world. You cannot stick it to e-commerce in a way that you don't do the traditional economy. It is just that simple. And the reason our legislation was so important initially, and why we continue this effort is because of what went on in Connecticut when we started this effort.
When we started this effort, Connecticut said if you bought the Wall Street Journal snail mail, you just got it from the traditional way, you paid no tax, but if you ordered the Interactive Edition, you paid a hefty tax. That is not technologically neutral. That is the kind of thing that is barred under Cox Wyden.
Finally, it is important that we know that the parade of horribles that we were told about in the summer of 1997 by those who opposed our bill has not come to pass. We were told that governmental revenue was going to go down, and retailers were going to vanish from Main Streets across the country. As Chris said, it is just the opposite. In states where Internet usage is highest, sales tax revenue is up. So we are not talking about parts of the country that are just experiencing an economic boom, and as a result you can say that the economy is strong. In states where Internet usage is highest, we are seeing overall revenues are up, and we are seeing Main Street retailers integrating their operations with online activity. So, I am very excited about the chance to team up with Chris and Bob on a bipartisan basis.
From what Governor Engler said yesterday was very very important. He opened up the door, in a very major way, for the chance now to quickly enact bipartisan legislation that would permanently bar discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce. I will let Governor Gilmore and others on the Commission speak for themselves, but I am hopeful personally, that that will be the centerpiece of what the Commission will recommend when they finish their work at the March 18th meeting, and then in the April 21st final report.