Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) claimed victory on Tuesday, saying a looming government spending bill will extend a moratorium on taxes on Internet access.
{mosads}Wyden co-wrote the moratorium, called the Internet Tax Freedom Act, in the late 1990s, and remains one of its most vocal backers. He said the government spending bill, which could be released as soon as Tuesday, would extend the ban on Internet taxes for a year.
“A fair and open Internet is an engine of economic growth in America, a launching pad for entrepreneurs and history’s most powerful tool of communication,” Wyden said in a statement. “By extending this bill, the Congress has, for the short term, ensured that this longstanding policy keeps Internet access tax-free. I’m going to continue fighting to ensure that these protections will bolster the digital economy for the long-term.”
The Oregon Democrat has pushed for a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, and told reporters Tuesday he would ramp up those efforts in January.
On Tuesday, Wyden also took credit for getting the Internet tax act extended without pairing it with a more controversial measure to give states more power to tax online sales.
Wyden is a fierce critic of that bill, the Marketplace Fairness Act, which passed the Senate last year. Supporters of the online sales tax bill had hoped to get it passed during the current lame-duck session. But Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said last month he wouldn’t let the measure move forward.