On February 11, 2016, the U.S. Senate approved a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) that is included in H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The bill also establishes an end date of June 30, 2020 for the seven states that currently impose a tax on internet access: Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. President Obama is expected to sign the permanent extension of the ITFA into law. The House of Representatives had previously passed H.R. 235, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, on December 15, 2015. For our previous news item on this topic, visit Internet Tax Freedom Act Extended Through October 1, 2016.
UPDATE: On February 24, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act. (Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015)
UPDATE: Effective July 1, 2020, charges for internet access are no longer subject to Ohio sales and use tax, charges for internet access are no longer subject to South Dakota state and municipal sales tax, separately stated charges for internet access are no longer subject to Texas sales tax, and charges for internet access services are no longer subject to Wisconsin sales and use tax. These change correlates with legislation enacted in 2016 that permanently extended the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The legislation established an end date of June 30, 2020 for seven states that imposed a tax on internet access at the time.