On December 16, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, for sales and use tax purposes. The Act includes a provision that extends the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) until October 1, 2015 with all provisions unchanged.
On January 9, 2015, the House of Representative introduced a bill (un-numbered) that would permanently extend the ITFA, banning states and local jurisdictions from imposing any new tax on internet access. The proposed bill removes the current effective dates of November 1, 2003 through October 1, 2015 and changes the effective date to be effective for new taxes imposed after the date of the enactment. It is not clear if states that have been grandfathered under the existing provision could retain their current tax on internet access but it appears that may be the case. No formal legislation has been introduced that would incorporate the Marketplace Fairness Act into this bill. The bill is sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, among others.
For our previous news item on this topic, see Internet Tax Freedom Act is Extended Through December 11, 2014.
For an update on this news item, see Internet Tax Freedom Act Extended Until December 11, 2015.
(Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015; H.R. 235)