Proposed legislation to tax anybody who uses the Internet or makes purchases through it is a bad idea, and it should be shunned in Congress, says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
"It's awful for taxpayers. This is a declaration of war if anybody uses the Internet,'' Norquist said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV. "It's a Senate bill, but why should a Republican put his fingerprints on something so awful?''
The bipartisan bill known as the Marketplace and Internet Tax Freedom Act, which taxes online sales and Internet access, was unveiled this week after previous legislation failed to gain steam in the House.
It was introduced by Sens. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican; Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat; Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican; Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat; Susan Collins, a Maine Republican; and Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat.
The bill would "restore states’ sovereign rights to enforce state and local sales and use tax laws.''
The bill "says we'll extend [a no-tax clause on] the Internet access band — not permanently, just for maybe 10 years — in return for taxing Internet sales across state lines,'' Norquist said.
"It’s the worst of both worlds. It trades a temporary protection against one tax in return for a permanent increase of taxing across state lines.
"Then 10 years from now they'll come back and start jamming you on Internet access … It's a very bad bill.''
Norquist's group is a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals, and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state, and local levels.
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