By Mike Platt, Guest Blogger
There are just two days left until the current Internet tax moratorium expires. Collectively, until it is extended, we will all have to endure more bad Halloween jokes predicting the looming specter that awaits us if Congress doesn't complete its work.
But this issue isn’t a joke. Extending the moratorium is a global competitiveness issue. The Internet must remain free of regulatory barriers that could adversely impact our U.S. companies as they try to compete internationally.
The legislation passed by the Senate on Thursday night is an improvement over the previously passed House legislation. First, it's a seven-year extension versus a four-year extension. And second, the Congressional Research Service voiced concerns that the House-passed language didn't adequately exempt certain services, like instant-messaging, from taxation.
The leaders in the Senate, and also Sens. John Sununu, R-N.H., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are to be commended for bringing this legislation to a vote on Thursday night. Now the House needs to pass this bill and send it to the president.
Platt is the vice president of government and political affairs for TechNet.
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Responded on April 1, 2009 10:28 AM
tax filing online
I wanted to respond to some of the comments regarding the tax stimulus checks. My husband and I use TurboTax computer software to do our taxes. It is a great program. We do not file our taxes electronically, we print out the tax forms and mail them. We also do not have any refunds direct deposited. I read somewhere that if there is an error on the direct deposit amount, it would be difficult to trace. Don’ t know if that is true or not, but just something to keep in mind.