[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 58 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 58

   Urging the United States to seek a global consensus supporting a 
  moratorium on tariffs and on special, multiple, and discriminatory 
                    taxation of electronic commerce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 1999

   Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Baucus) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Urging the United States to seek a global consensus supporting a 
  moratorium on tariffs and on special, multiple, and discriminatory 
                    taxation of electronic commerce.

Whereas electronic commerce is not bound by geography and its borders are not 
        easily discernible;
Whereas transmissions over the Internet are made through packet-switching, 
        making it impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the 
        precise geographic route or endpoints of specific Internet transmissions 
        and infeasible to separate intrastate from interstate, and domestic from 
        foreign, Internet transmissions;
Whereas inconsistent and inadministrable taxes imposed on Internet activity by 
        subnational and national governments threaten not only to subject 
        consumers, businesses and other users engaged in interstate and foreign 
        commerce to multiple, confusing and burdensome taxation, but also to 
        restrict the growth and continued technological maturation of the 
        Internet itself;
Whereas the complexity of the issue of domestic taxation of electronic commerce 
        is compounded when considered at the global level of almost 200 separate 
        national governments;
Whereas the First Annual Report of the United States Government Working Group on 
        Electronic Commerce found that fewer than 10 million people worldwide 
        were using the Internet in 1995, that more than 140 million people 
        worldwide were using the Internet in 1998 and that more than one billion 
        people worldwide will be using the Internet in the first decade of the 
        next Century;
Whereas information technology industries have accounted for more than one-third 
        of real growth in United States Gross Domestic Product over the past 3 
        years;
Whereas information technology industries employ more than seven million people 
        in the United States, and by 2006, more than one-half of the United 
        States workforce is expected to be employed in industries that are 
        either major producers or intensive users of information technology 
        products and services;
Whereas electronic commerce among businesses worldwide is expected to grow from 
        $43 billion in 1998 to more than $1.3 trillion by 2003, and electronic 
        retail sales to consumers worldwide are expected to grow from $8 billion 
        in 1998 to more than $108 billion by 2003;
Whereas the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 enacted a policy of technological 
        neutrality and nondiscrimination toward taxation of electronic commerce, 
        and stated that United States policy should be to seek bilateral, 
        regional and multilateral agreements to remove barriers to global 
        electronic commerce;
Whereas the World Trade Organization, at its May 1998 Ministerial Conference, 
        adopted a declaration that all 132 member countries ``will continue 
        their current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic 
        transmissions'';
Whereas the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and industry 
        groups issued a joint declaration at its October 1998 Ministerial 
        meeting on Global Electronic Commerce supporting the principles of 
        technological neutrality and non-discrimination and opposing 
        discriminatory taxation imposed on the Internet and electronic commerce;
Whereas the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the Organization for Economic 
        Cooperation and Development has stated that neutrality, efficiency, 
        certainty and simplicity, effectiveness and fairness, and flexibility 
        are the broad taxation principles that should be applied to electronic 
        commerce;
Whereas the United States has issued joint statements on electronic commerce 
        with Australia, the European Union, France, Ireland, Japan, and Korea 
        providing that any taxation of electronic commerce should be neutral and 
        nondiscriminatory; and
Whereas a July 1999 United Nations Report on Human Development urged world 
        governments to impose ``bit taxes'' on electronic transmissions: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) urges the President to seek a global consensus 
        supporting--
                    (A) a permanent international moratorium on tariffs 
                on electronic commerce; and
                    (B) an international ban on special, multiple, and 
                discriminatory taxation of electronic commerce and the 
                Internet;
            (2) urges the President to instruct the United States 
        delegation to the November 1999 World Trade Organization 
        ministerial in Senate to seek to make permanent and binding the 
        moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmissions adopted by 
        the World Trade Organization in May 1998;
            (3) urges the President to seek adoption by the 
        Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and 
        implementation by the groups 29 member countries of an 
        international ban on special, multiple, or discriminatory 
        taxation of electronic commerce and the Internet; and
            (4) urges the President to oppose any proposal by any 
        country, the United Nations, or any other multilateral 
        organization to establish a bit tax on electronic 
        transmissions.
                                 <all>