Internet tax relief: An unexpected holiday gift

Monday, December 14, 2015

By Ken McEldowney

The Holiday season is fast approaching and there is one unexpected gift under the tree from Congress: permanent relief from taxes on your Internet access. Since 1998, the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) has prevented states and cities from taxing your Internet access at the same rate they tax wireless services – typically double the sales tax rate.

ITFA has been extended multiple times but usually only for a few years at a time. As our Executive Director Ken McEldowney wrote in The Hill this time last year when the bill was once again set to expire, “The answer is not to kick the can down the road by extending ITFA for only a few months. Rather, consumers should know as they make their purchases during the holiday season that they no longer are at risk for new taxes being imposed by tax authorities in states, cities, towns, counties and school districts across the country each time they access the Internet.”

We applaud Congress for standing up and taking action to protect consumers. The House of Representatives has already approved the bill with the Senate still to act. Now is the time to let your Senator know that you support the Internet Tax Freedom Act with permanent relief from taxes on your Internet Access.

Ken McEldowney is Consumer Action's executive director.