Most Americans look to the Internet and see an engine for innovation, productivity and economic growth. Unfortunately, in Washington some people see success and ask only one question: How can we tax it?

Unless Congress acts, tax collectors nationwide won’t have to wait much longer to decide. The current ban on Internet access taxes, double taxation, and taxes that discriminate against Internet purchases will expire on November 1, 2007. To permanently extend the moratorium, I joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and John McCain (R-AZ) in introducing the bi-partisan Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act.

The future of the Internet – and Americans’ ability to access the Web – is on the line. Lawmakers must work together now to permanently bar Internet access from being singled out as a new revenue source by local and state jurisdictions. Given the national importance of this network, there is no justification for such local micromanagement.

The power to tax is the power to destroy. The effect of new taxes on the Internet would be felt by individuals and businesses alike: higher costs and reduced access for lower-income Americans, decreases in online commerce, diminished investment in new technology, and disincentives for the deployment of new broadband infrastructure.

Failure to extend this ban could sharply limit the Internet’s otherwise bright future. The time has come for politicians to stop using Internet taxation as a political football, and give up the misguided notion that we should preserve the “option” to tax the Internet in the future. We must enact a permanent ban that removes the specter of taxes on this economic engine once and for all.

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