US government calls for Net tax advice

An advisory committee set up by the US government to look into the issue of Internet taxation is inviting comment and proposals from businesses and interested parties.

The committee is conducting a study of federal, state, local and international taxation of ecommerce transactions, and is due to report back to Congress by 21 April 2000.

The announcement came on the same day Intel chief, Craig Barrett, told a conference in Florida that the US government must come up with a solution to the taxation problem.

He praised the Clinton administration for encouraging Internet adoption by resisting taxation so far, but added that if predictions of ecommerce being worth 10 per cent of gross domestic product by 2002 are correct, the government will not be able to afford the loss of tax revenues for much longer.

At the launch of the UK's Performance and Innovation Unit's ecommerce report in Cambridge last month, e-minister Patricia Hewitt, denied ecommerce taxation is a problem. "It's very different for us. There's no immediate need to bring it [taxation] in, but the Inland Revenue is well aware of the issue," she said.

The UK's e-envoy, Alex Allan, added: "The US has a genuine problem, but our tax base is not being hollowed out. But the issue does need to be looked at."

To have your say about Internet taxation in the US go to http://www.ecommercecommission.org/invite.htm .