A little good news for the Net

Surprise: there’s a bit of good news from Washington. The House and Senate just agreed to include a permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act in the Customs and Border Protection reauthorization. Congress first barred states and the federal government from taxing Internet access in 1998. But the measure was temporary, and every few years since then  it’s been in jeopardy of expiring. Applying discriminatory taxes to Internet access would have slowed the rollout of broadband, the uptake by consumers, and the emergence of some of America’s most successful industries. This new measure ensures we continue a successful policy . . . permanently.