HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

18

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION OF THE STATE OF HAWAII TO PASS A PERMANENT BAN ON INTERNET ACCESS TAXES.

 

WHEREAS, in 1998, and extended in 2001, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act in order to protect consumers that used the Internet and encourage more individuals to access the Internet; and

WHEREAS, the legislation eliminated taxes on Internet access, double-taxation of a product or service bought over the Internet, and discriminatory taxes that treated Internet purchases differently from other types of sales; and

WHEREAS, the moratorium on Internet access led to the rapid growth of the Internet, which in turn brought good economic news; and

WHEREAS, we live in an age of innovation, where the medium of the Internet is sparking a sharp increase in entrepreneurship and opportunity, the likes of which have not been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; and

WHEREAS, enacting a tax Internet access will do significant damage to the United States economy and decrease the standard of living for all Americans; and

WHEREAS, on September 17, 2003, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a permanent ban on all Internet access taxes, however, when the bill came to the Senate floor, pro-Internet tax Senators used parliamentary and other underhanded procedural tricks to force supporters of the legislation into negotiations; and

WHEREAS, opponents of a tax free Internet used the negotiations to stall and stop final passage of a permanent ban on Internet access taxes in order to achieve their true desire and tax the Internet; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the House of Representatives of the State of Hawaii requests the Congressional delegation from the State of Hawaii to pass a clean, permanent, and technologically neutral extension of the Internet tax moratorium; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to each member of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Permanent ban on Internet access taxes; support