Just Say No to Internet Access Taxes

Hey Everyone!

Something good happened in Washington, D.C. last week for everyone who loves eBay and the Internet.

President Bush signed into law the Internet Access Tax Moratorium. After more than a year of lobbying, both Houses of Congress passed this seven-year extension of the moratorium, the longest extension since its establishment in 1998.      

Many of you shared with us your belief that Internet access should be tax-free. And we agree. Provisions of the Internet Access Tax Moratorium ensure, specifically, that stand-alone Internet services such as email and instant messaging cannot be subject to state and local taxation for the next seven years.

Preserving tax-free Internet access is vital to all of us as consumers. It is also especially important in fostering small business growth, including the hundreds of thousands of U.S. sellers who make all or part of their living on eBay. This victory will ensure the continued growth of Internet marketplaces like eBay and the U.S. economy as a whole. Of course, the Internet Access Tax Moratorium does not mean that large retailers and the states won’t push hard for Congress to adopt a distant state sales tax regime, but they will no longer be able to use the Moratorium as a way to achieve it.

A warm thank you and congratulations is owed to all the members in the eBay Community who have either written or called their Senators or House Representative to share their feelings regarding placing taxes on Internet usage. If you'd like to get involved and learn more about public policy issues of importance to the eBay Community, visit our Main Street website at http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/.