Candidate: Stall Internet taxes
The government should hold off on taxing Internet commerce for the next two to five years, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman says
The government should hold off on taxing Internet commerce for the next
two to five years, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman
said Tuesday.
Lieberman was interviewed by Gartner Group Inc. chief executive officer
Michael Fleisher at Gartner's ITxpo in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Republican
vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney couldn't make it, but Lieberman,
a Democrat from Gartner's home state of Connecticut, took part.
During the conference, Gartner analysts had asked all keynote speakers
for their views on Internet taxation and followed suit with Lieberman, who
co-sponsored legislation creating a tax moratorium.
He wants to see the moratorium continue for at least a few more years,
although he said that "eventually we're going to have to deal with this
issue." As far as taxing Internet commerce, "It's not a question of if;
it's a question of when," he said.
The problem, though, is that there are 70,000 taxing authorities in
the United States that could lay claim to a piece of the Internet tax pie
because of points of distribution when something is purchased over the Internet,
Lieberman said.
State and local governments, along with traditional retailers, will
lead the call for Internet taxation, arguing that it isn't fair that goods
bought on the Web remain untaxed while taxes are paid on items bought at
stores. The ideal solution is to create a tax that is equitable across localities,
Lieberman said.
He and running mate Al Gore embrace the Internet as a tool that can
be used to reach citizens. He pointed to Internet voting as a likely future
use owing to the success of that process on a limited scale.
Distributed by IDG News Service.
NEXT STORY: Leaders urge tighter transportation security