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Chairman

The Honorable James S. Gilmore, III
Governor
Commonwealth of Virginia

Members

Mr. Dean F. Andal
Chairman
California Board of Equalization

Mr. C. Michael Armstrong
Chairman and CEO,
AT&T

Mr. Joseph H. Guttentag
Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury

The Honorable Paul C. Harris Sr. Delegate
Virginia House of Delegates

The Honorable Delna Jones
Commissioner
Washington County, Oregon

The Honorable Ron Kirk
Mayor
City of Dallas

The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
Governor
State of Utah

Mr. Gene N. Lebrun
President (1997-1999)
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

The Honorable Gary Locke
Governor
State of Washington

Mr. Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

Mr. Robert Novick
General Counsel
U.S. Trade Representative

Mr. Richard Parsons
President
Time Warner, Inc.

Mr. Andrew Pincus
General Counsel
U.S. Department of Commerce

Mr. Robert Pittman
President & Chief Operating Officer
America Online

Mr. David Pottruck
President & co-Chief Executive Officer
Charles Schwab and Company

Mr. John W. Sidgmore
Vice Chairman
MCI WorldCom and Chairman UUNET

Mr. Stanley Sokul
Independent Consultant
Association for Interactive Media

Mr. Theodore Waitt
Chairman
Gateway, Inc.

 
 
Press Contacts:
Debbie Neville
O'Keeffe & Company, Inc.
(703) 883-9000, ext. 104
dneville@okeeffeco.com
 
 

Heather Rosenker
Executive Director
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce
(703) 993-8049
rosenker@gmu.edu
For Immediate Release
April 7, 2000

Mark Miner
Press Secretary
Office of the Governor of Virginia
(804) 692-3110
mminer@gov.state.va.us

E-Commerce Advisory Commission Report
Gaining Bipartisan Support in Congress

Chairman Speaks to Congressional Panel

Arlington, VA - April 7, 2000 - The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce's report, being formally submitted to Congress next week, has already received backing from bi-partisan Congressional members. Shows of support include an introduction of legislation that permanently extends the current moratorium on Internet-related taxes and repeals the telephone tax. Yesterday, Commission Chairman, Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III, offered testimony on the report at a hearing in the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"I feel the Commission's report will provide a solid foundation by which Congress can act in the best interests of each American citizen," said Governor James S. Gilmore, III. "Members of Congress are already moving to support key ideas presented. It's a report that we can be proud of, and it will be judged on the merits of its ideas."

Next month, House Speaker Dennis Hastert is expected to formally propose extending the tax moratorium, while Minority Leader Richard Gephardt recently called for a three-year extension of the tax moratorium as part of the Democrats' agenda. Congressman Gephardt also endorsed a phaseout of the three percent tax on telecommunications services and a ban on Internet-access taxes.

Under the proposal, the Commission voted in Dallas to:

  • Reduce consumers' taxation burden by repealing the federal three-percent excise tax on telecommunications services
  • Forge a meaningful pathway to simplification of states' sales and use taxation systems
  • Permanently prohibit states or localities from taxing Internet access subscription charges
  • Extend the current Internet Taxation moratorium legislated by the Congress on multiple and discriminatory taxation

Governor Gilmore has been asked to formally present the report to Congressional leaders in the Lincoln Room of the United States Capitol on Wednesday, April 12, followed by an address to a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club.

For more information about the Commission and its meetings, the public may visit the Commission's Web site at http://www.ecommercecommission.org.

About the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce

Appointed by Congress in October 1998 as part of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the 19-member Commission has been tasked with studying the impact of federal, state, local, and international taxation and tariffs on transactions using the Internet and Internet Access. The Commission's recommendations are due to Congress no later than April 21, 2000.

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