The Senate worked its traditional magic of compromise Thursday as it passed legislation to extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act for seven years.

As it did so, it attempted to address the ridiculous assertion of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that e-mail and like services are likely to come under attack by greedy state and local tax authorities. Okay, a compromise is a compromise, but when you look at the language it may be more restrictive than intended. It's a solution looking for a problem.

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., passionately believes that the Internet Tax Freedom Act should be made permanent. On that point we are crystal clear. He was willing to compromise on a seven-year extension to move the matter forward and protect Internet access from taxation. Good for him.

But, a seven-year extension puts the matter squarely in an election-year cycle. Is that a good idea? Shorter is better.

The U.S. House will have to carefully examine the Senate's work and make some choices between the two bills. Local government fully supports the House-passed bill and would like to see that prevail, but this is Washington, D.C., and we all know that something will get worked out.

Hopefully, it's in the best interest of all the people, and the state and local governments that represent them.

Arnold is the deputy legislative director for the National Association of Counties.