Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lampooned the Marketplace Fairness...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lampooned the Marketplace Fairness Act (HR-684) as merely a tool to “hold hostage” a vote on the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act (ITFFA) (S-1431), which would permanently ban taxes on Internet access, on the Senate floor Thursday (http://bit.ly/1m5Y6Xc). The MFA would allow states to tax remote sellers with revenue exceeding $1 million. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the Senate to consider S-2735 (http://1.usa.gov/1AI37ii), which would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes (due to expire Nov. 1) another two months through 2014 (http://1.usa.gov/1qQ5DRw) (CD Aug 1 p9). Wyden is the original sponsor of ITFFA, which has 52 Senate co-sponsors (http://1.usa.gov/1jRXTeE). Cruz and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., objected to S-2735. The two-month extension would allow the Internet access tax moratorium to expire in a “lame duck” session of Congress, said Cruz: “We shouldn’t be holding the Internet hostage to the rapacious desire of tax collectors.” TechAmerica, state tech councils and industry groups expressed support for S-1431, in a Thursday letter (http://bit.ly/WRIL7e) to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.