Thought this might be of interest.
Jan 8 1999 6:13PM - Bloomberg News
Virginia Governor Gilmore Poised to Head Internet Tax Panel
Virginia Governor Gilmore Poised to Head Internet Tax Panel
Washington, Jan. 8 (Washington) -- Virginia Republican Governor Jim Gilmore is poised to become chairman of a new commission to
help set rules of taxation on Internet commerce, said House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley.
Congress created the 19-member Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce last year to help guide policy-makers in deciding if
and how to tax transactions on the Internet.
The commission's proposals will be vital to firms such as America Online Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Yahoo Inc. and others, as it will lay
the foundation for taxing one of the fastest growing forms of commerce in the world. Online sales are expected to double to $68
billion next year, according to market researcher International Data Corp., based in Framingham, Massachusetts.
As chairman, Gilmore, who promised Virginia voters reduced property taxes on cars, will have an influential role in shaping the report
that the commission must deliver to Congress by April 2000.
''I find it hard to believe that Gilmore will come out with an outcome that says, 'Let's tax things,' '' said Bill Whyman, an analyst with
Legg Mason Wood Walker's Precursor Group in Washington.
Gilmore hasn't been named to head the panel yet, although Bliley said he has secured the support of the majority of the advisory
panel members for Gilmore.
Business on the Internet is booming. For example, Amazon.com, the No. 1 online book and music store, said this week that fourth
quarter sales almost quadrupled to $250 million as more holiday shoppers turned to its World Wide Web sites.
The new panel includes some of the biggest names in the field of high technology, including America Online Inc. President Robert
Pittman and AT&T Corp. Chairman C. Michael Armstrong, as well as Gateway 2000 Inc. Chairman Theodore Waitt.
Time Warner Inc. President Richard D. Parsons and Charles Schwab Corp. President David Pottruck also sit on the panel, along with
Netscape Communications Corp. Chief Executive James Barksdale and MCI WorldCom Inc. Vice Chairman John Sidgmore.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Commerce Secretary William Daley and Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky also will
serve on the panel. --Paul Nyhan and Alan Wolf in Washington |
