WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) applauds the House Judiciary Committee for voting the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 out of committee. The Act effectively extends the moratorium on internet taxation established in the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act. The IIA, a coalition of non-profit organizations and businesses committed to universal broadband access, ardently supports investment in and improvement of the broadband infrastructure in the United States.
“The internet is transforming how Americans work, live, learn and play, enabling vast improvements across all sectors of the economy,” said Bruce Mehlman, co-chairman of the IIA and former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology under President George W. Bush. “Video applications are accelerating that trend, generating new commercial possibilities of enormous benefit and importance. Those in Congress who purport to care about broadband deployment, internet access and American competitiveness need to step up and make this critical legislation permanent.”
Extending the internet tax moratorium is a critical step toward ensuring continued investment. Broadband internet will promote innovation, encourage job growth, and ensure America’s competitiveness on the world stage. For the United States to realize the full potential of the internet, federal, state and local public policy makers must allow the internet the freedom to grow and develop. Such freedom is attainable through tax policy that encourages investment and innovation.
“Extension of the internet tax moratorium is essential for continued expansion of broadband connectivity and investment,” said Larry Irving, co-chairman of the IIA. “We would be sending precisely the wrong signal to those companies investing in and building our nation’s broadband and internet infrastructures if we were to step away from our historic commitment to minimal taxation and regulation of the internet.”
The Internet Innovation Alliance
Irving and Mehlman founded the IIA in 2004. Irving is president and CEO of Irving Information Group, a consulting firm providing strategic advice and assistance to international telecommunications and technology companies. Mehlman is co-founder of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc., a bipartisan public affairs consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.