Ban on monthly Net access taxes faces obstacles

BAN ON MONTHLY NET ACCESS TAXES FACES OBSTACLES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache and Declan McCullagh]
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said Tuesday that Congress may fail to renew a temporary ban on some state and local Internet access taxes that expires on November 1. He fears that lobbyists for state and local governments and their powerful allies in Washington will stymie efforts by Internet and telecommunications companies and free-market groups to make the ban permanent--or even to renew it again. "There remain a lot of officials in local government who are licking their lips at the prospect of going after this cash cow," Sen Wyden said. If the tax moratorium expires, monthly bills for Internet access could come to resemble bills for telephone service, with a welter of confusing taxes, recovery fees, surcharges and administrative fees tacked on at the end. Those fees can raise a subscriber's total cost by 20 percent to 30 percent.
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