COMSUBBBS
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Location: New Jersey | Subject: Tax moratoreum on Internet & net neutrality
Bush Signing 7 - Year Internet Tax Ban
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 31, 2007
Filed at 11:58 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A moratorium on Internet access taxes got a last-minute extension Wednesday, one day before it would have expired.
The White House said President Bush would sign legislation approved by Congress to extend the ban for seven more years.
There was strong support in both the House and Senate for a permanent moratorium, but concerns over the potential long-term impact on state and local governments forced a compromise.
The tax ban, first approved in 1998 and twice renewed, was set to expire Nov. 1.
In addition to extending the ban, the legislation also contains a provision aimed at preventing state and local governments from assessing taxes beyond those levied on simple Internet access. The legislation specifically prohibits taxation on e-mail and instant messaging services ''that are provided independently or not packaged with Internet access.''
The extension also exempts some states that approved taxes before the original ban was enacted.
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Now all we can hope for is "net Neutrality". But I have a bad feeling about that. These huge companies, ATT, Verizon, Sprint or whoever offers broadband is gonna wanna get a bigger piece of the pie by charging more money for more bandwidth and allowing those that pay to get "broader" access, (no pun intended) to the pipe. I also read in today's NYTimes that European countries get faster internet access for less than what we pay. And the combined TV,Internet and telephone which I just got, costs less than half of what we pay.
Being sick and tired of Verizon charging me for everything even though I may not have wanted some features. I now pay $33.00 a month for all features that are changeable via the internet or the phone. If you make a call for a tbl you don't have to leave a voice mail and then wait for Verizon to get back to you. You get a real voice. My total package comes to $142.00 per month. I have additions added to the TV part such as HBO, Showtime etc......After porting my number from Verizon to Comcast I'm saving $22.00 a month and still have my original number. |
Tax moratoreum on Internet & net neutrality
