Ban on Internet tax called for

A trio of US senators has urged Congress to pass a ban on all Internet taxes, it has been reported.

The current Internet tax moratorium ends on November 1st and the senators have called on Congress to pass through the ban on internet tax before that date. Congress enacted the ban in 1998 and it was renewed in 2004. One of the senators asking Congress to institute a ban is Arizona senator John McCain, currently campaigning for the Republican nomination for president.

He said that the ban must be instituted before state governments put in place their own tax on the Internet. Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, the head of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, said: "People use the Internet to access information and purchase goods and services.

"It is not appropriate to tax someone for walking into a library or a shopping mall. On that rationale, we should not be taxing the internet."