Thursday, October 04, 2007
Downies Fail Americans Again, Fail to Pass Extended Ban on Internet Taxes
In a little-reported story, the Downercrats who control Congress failed the American people again and allowed a ban on taxing the internet to expire.
As we here at Joobo always say, if you elect a Downercrat you get your wallet picked. Clean.
Democrats fail (at least for now) to protect Net users from taxes
So, people of the United States, when you pay an increased bill for internet usage next month, you can thank the Downercrats for the hike. But how many media outlets, stirred into action by the plight of O.J. Simpson and Britney Spears, will let you know that?
In a little-reported story, the Downercrats who control Congress failed the American people again and allowed a ban on taxing the internet to expire.
As we here at Joobo always say, if you elect a Downercrat you get your wallet picked. Clean.
Democrats fail (at least for now) to protect Net users from taxes
Democrats in the U.S. Congress failed on Thursday to protect Internet users from higher taxes.
The Senate Commerce committee, chaired by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), mysteriously killed a vote on an Internet tax bill that was supposed to take place at 2:30 p.m. ET. With a laugh but no explanation, Inouye simply told the hearing room it wasn't going to happen.
Normally postponements of votes would be mere congressional background noise. This is different because, as we wrote about earlier this month, a temporary federal moratorium on Internet access taxes expires on November 1.
If a lackadaisical Congress does nothing, in other words, Americans soon are likely to be paying more to local governments for the privilege of buying DSL and cable modem service. (These are some of the same local governments that have adopted as their motto: "If it exists, tax it. And then tax it some more.")
Time's running out. Sen. John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican who does support renewing the moratorium, made a good point in a statement after the nonvote: "We introduced a bill to permanently ban Internet access taxes back in January. I just don't understand the continued delay in action. The clock continues to tick, placing Internet tax freedom in real jeopardy."
You can blame the Democrats for this state of affairs. Not all of them in the Congress, to be sure, but if this was a priority for the Democratic leadership, Majority Leader Harry Reid would make this happen post-haste. John Conyers, a key Democrat in the House of Representatives, finally got around to introducing legislation called the "Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007" on Thursday that generally offers a four-year extension.
So, people of the United States, when you pay an increased bill for internet usage next month, you can thank the Downercrats for the hike. But how many media outlets, stirred into action by the plight of O.J. Simpson and Britney Spears, will let you know that?
