EDITOR’S VIEWPOINT/House Internet tax bill slaps local governments
The House leadership was serious — its members intensely aware of the potential effects of what they were about to do. They looked at the cities, towns and counties arrayed before them and summoned up their most dignified expressions. Then they stuck out their tongues and went “pffffflllllltttt.” At least that’s my version of events.’
By extending the moratorium on Internet taxes for five years, the House basically stood on the theory that the newness of the Internet has put all levels of government in a peculiar position. Having never before had to deal with anything like this wondrous tool, governments, House members said, should tread lightly since their actions could have serious — and unintended — effects.’ But that is exactly why cities and counties are so concerned. They are well aware of the Internet’s upside; it is perhaps the most important evolution in the relationship between the governing and the governed. Its downside, however, still is pretty much theoretical.
That fact was even acknowledged by one of the bill’s biggest boosters, Repub-lican Rick Lazio of New York. “No one put a ship tax on Magellan. No one put a mule tax on Lewis and Clark,” he said, totally ignoring the fact that a ship tax on Magellan in 1500 and a mule tax on Lewis and Clark in 1800 are not even remotely comparable to an Internet tax in 2000. “We don’t know where the high-tech roller coaster will take us all next,” Lazio went on. “All we can do is hold on and enjoy the fabulous ride.”
The problem is that city and county officials see the issue less as a roller coaster and more as a train — with them tied to the tracks. Across the country, they are struggling valiantly to rebuild downtowns devastated by emigration to the suburbs and the sudden appearance of the “superstores” that undercut Mom-and-Pop prices with no more than a by-your-leave. The last thing they need is one more nail in the coffin.
The Internet, for all its vast promise, could easily turn out to be that nail. City and county officials look at it this way: Every $10 spent on the Internet is 50 or 60 cents picked right out of their pockets.
(Not being, by nature, a cynic, I won’t even go into the theory that the high-tech industry has boatloads of money, some of which could find its way into the campaign coffers of people that the high-tech industry thinks of as friends. No, I won’t go there. Not me.)
The good news is the Senate appears to be hesitant about going along with the House action. Republican Senators Mike Enzi of Wyoming and George Voinovich of Ohio have filed a “hold letter,” which could put the House bill in congressional Limbo. It is critical that the Senate know where you stand.
An e-mail would be perfect.