n the final hours of the 105th Congress, the Internet Tax Freedom Act was still in limbo and was expected to die when lawmakers recessed. Although the act, which would impose a three-year moratorium on taxation of Internet commerce, had passed the Senate in October, it went back in the House for minor changes and needed to again return to the Senate for final action. The House had approved an earlier version of the legislation in June.
The Tax Freedom act is of interest to meeting and event organizers who sell seminar tapes, exhibit space, online training, or other meeting-related products and services over the Internet. At present, about a dozen states tax Internet transactions, and without the moratorium others are likely to follow.