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Committee To Vote On Net Tax Moratorium
by Liza Porteus
The California Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee is set to vote Thursday on a measure that would extend the state's current moratorium on Internet taxes. But some lawmakers are concerned that the two-year extension of the ban would not be long enough for a state commission to review the Internet's impact on tax revenues.
The bill, S.B. 394, would prohibit taxes on Internet access and other "discriminatory" taxes until Jan. 1, 2004. The California Commission on Tax Policy in the New Economy, which was created under a 2000 law, is required to submit its report to the governor and legislature, and then be dissolved, by the same date. Some lawmakers say that by the time the commission is formally established -- some of its members have not even been named yet -- there will not be enough time for it do sufficient work before a two-year moratorium would expire again in 2004.
Jobs Committee Chairwoman Sarah Reyes authored an amendment that would extend the moratorium three years. During a hearing Tuesday, when representatives from Hewlett-Packard testified in favor of extending the moratorium, the committee decided to debate the amendment and delay the vote by two days.
But the Senate Revenue and Tax Committee, which previously approved S.B. 394, obtained a commitment from Democratic Sen. Byron Sher, the bill's sponsor, to limit the moratorium to two years, arguing that the state would lose valuable revenue from its inability to collect e-commerce taxes under a longer-term extension.
If the Jobs Committee rejects the measure Thursday, "it puts the bill in jeopardy," a Sher aide said. Sources said the Senate has indicated that it will reject a three-year extension.
"I don't think that anyone is standing in the way of a moratorium. I think there's a consensus that we need one," a Reyes aide said. "We're going to send a signal through this bill. ... We think there should be a three-year moratorium. ... It just makes more sense."
To Streamline Or Not To Streamline
South Dakota's Streamlined Sales Tax Project Task Force will hold its first meeting Thursday to debate whether passing legislation to simplify the state's sales-tax system would benefit the rural Mount Rushmore State.
Gov. William Janklow appointed members to the task force after signing a law that established the group. Its mission is to study the ramifications of South Dakota joining other states' efforts to simplify their tax-collection systems in order to pave the way for e-commerce taxation.
"Basically, this meeting is a backgrounder for the committee," said South Dakota Retailers Association Executive Director Jerry Wheeler. Task force members have been given histories on sales and use taxes, an overview of the work of the federal Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, and updates on e-commerce activities in Congress by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
The Streamlined Sales Tax Project and NCSL have offered different versions of model legislation to streamline sales-tax systems, and the project is encouraging states to enact them. Congress, meanwhile, is considering legislation to extend the federal moratorium on Internet taxes, as governors stress the importance of collecting taxes on out-of-state, online sales.
The Need For Universal Service
Wyoming's Telecommunications Subcommittee of the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee will meet Friday to consider issues surrounding the state's fund for universal fund for telecommunications, including whether to cap the fund. The panel also will debate other telecom-related issues, such as service quality, directory services and how to determine the rights of way for the rollout of new telecom services.
Based on a report provided by the state's Public Service Commission -- a copy of which was obtained by National Journal's Technology Daily -- the committee will consider, among other things, the ramifications of right-of-way legislation the telecom industry proposed last year. The bill would have limited government from collecting rights-of-way fees and would have allowed fees based only on the service providers' costs of running certain services, according to Dave Gruvner, an aide in Wyoming's Legislative Service Office Committee.
Earley's Views On The Techway And Telework
In the second of a series of online chats with washingtonpost.com, Mark Earley, Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate and former state attorney general, addressed an issue that has pitted business groups, environmentalists and state lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia against each other: the Techway.
The Techway is a proposed road that would connect the tech corridors of Northern Virginia and Maryland across the Potomac River west of developed areas in the Washington region.
Earley said it is "vital" to create a third crossing between the two states to ease traffic congestion. "I am committed to developing positive personal relationships with key government, business and community leaders in Maryland" to ease congestion, Earley said.
He also said more teleworking partnerships with the federal government, the tech sector and the state could ease traffic.
Paige To Meet With City Leaders
Education Secretary Roderick Paige will meet with the National League of Cities' board this week in Detroit to discuss how the federal Education Department can work with municipal leaders to strengthen the nation's public school system, according to Nation's Cities Weekly. The board also will focus on issues discussed during its March meeting, including the progress on developing federal legislation to require collection of sales and use taxes on remote transactions.
New York Wires The North Country
New York Gov. George Pataki last week announced that two local firms, Empsall Plaza and SLIC Network Solutions, were awarded more than $71,000 in matching grants under the state's "wired building" initiative. The project aims to help developers outfit existing buildings to accommodate the needs of small information technology companies.
Empire State Development administers the program and will increase the availability of affordable, wired workspace businesses need to develop e-commerce applications, offer online services or engage in software research and development. The move is designed to help high-tech development efforts in Watertown and Potsdam, and will leverage an additional $143,000 in private-sector investment.
Accenture, MIT Award E-Government Greatness
The technology consulting firm Accenture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented the Digital Government Awards during the international E-Gov 2001 conference in Washington last week.
The awards showcased Web sites in federal, state and local governments, as well as education and government prototypes. This year's recipients included:
- The Education Department's Office of Student Financial Assistance for its Direct Loan Servicing site in the "federal government" category;
- New Jersey Department of Human Services' One EASE E-Link site in the "state government" category;
- The City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency Web site in the "local government" category;
- The "My UW-Madison" portal at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the "higher education" category;
- And the Internet-based Simplified Tax and Wage Reporting System Employer Identification Number, a partnership program among four federal agencies and multiple states and private organizations to simplify the employment-tax and wage-reporting process, in the "government prototype" category.
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