The lines of communication need to stay open...
The lines of communication need to stay open to promote telecom policies that will benefit state, local and tribal governments, said municipal leaders on a National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors webinar Monday. Municipalities made their voices heard at…
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the FCC and on Capitol Hill this year, but more needs to be done for consumer protection and to protect franchise taxes, they said. Four bills were also debated in Congress this year that would affect taxes in municipalities, said Barrie Tabin Berger, Government Finance Officers Association assistant director-federal liaison center. The Marketplace Fairness Act, Digital Goods and Services Act, Permanent Tax Freedom Act and Wireless Tax Fairness Act could all have far-reaching implications if passed by both chambers, said Berger. The Digital Goods and Services Act introduces preemption measures and it’s not supported by municipalities, she said. “Every letter that we send in opposition says we are opposed to preemption in local tax authority.” This bill would block multiple and discriminatory taxes on digital goods and services even though there’s no “concrete evidence” of the practice and the Internet Tax Freedom Act already bans such taxation, she said. Gridlock is keeping Congress from moving forward with taxation measures, said Berger. “People do not want to move forward on anything because they want to focus on the president’s healthcare initiative,” she said. “There is a lot of movement on [the] House side, but not the Senate, which could change” when Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., steps down, said Berger.