The National Governors Association is “disappointed” in House...

The National Governors Association is “disappointed” in House passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA) (HR-3086), NGA said in a statement (http://bit.ly/1rgRBI3) Tuesday. PITFA, which bans any taxation on Internet access, passed the House by a voice vote Tuesday (CD July 16 p12). No changes were made to the bill before or during its consideration, said a House Judiciary Committee spokeswoman. NGA said “this federal prohibition on state taxing authority is contrary to federalism and the sovereign authority of states to structure and manage their own fiscal systems.” Congress should instead “address the disparity between Main Street retailers and online sellers regarding the collection of state and local sales taxes,” it said. House passage of PITFA “protects millions of Americans across the country who use the Internet daily to look for employment, participate in online courses or access government services from state and local taxes on Internet access,” said Internet Tax Freedom Act Coalition Executive Director Annabelle Canning in a statement (http://bit.ly/1naI8jB) Tuesday. The coalition encouraged the Senate to pass its version of PITFA (S-1431) before Nov. 1. The coalition’s members (http://bit.ly/1tRqQMh) include Amazon, AT&T and Verizon, and those two telcos also backed passage in separate statements. S-1431 has 51 co-sponsors.