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SEC. 9. DECLARATION THAT THE INTERNET SHOULD BE
FREE OF FOREIGN TARIFFS, TRADE BAR-
RIERS, AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President
should seek bilateral and multilateral agreements through
the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development, the International
Telecommunications Union, the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation Council, the Free Trade Area of the Ameri-
cas, and other appropriate international fora. Such agree-
ments should require, inter alia, that the provision of
Internet access or online services be free from undue and
discriminatory regulation by foreign governments and that
electronic commercial transactions between United States
and foreign providers of property, goods, services, and in-
formation be free from undue and discriminatory regula-
tion, international tariffs, and discriminatory taxation.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) BIT TAX.—The term ‘‘bit tax’’ means any
tax on electronic commerce expressly imposed on or
measured by the volume of digital information trans-
mitted electronically, or the volume of digital infor-
mation per unit of time transmitted electronically,
but does not include taxes imposed on the provision
of telecommunications services.
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(2) COMPUTER SERVER.—The term ‘‘computer
server’’ means a computer that functions as a cen-
tralized provider of information and services to mul-
tiple recipients.
(3) DISCRIMINATORY
TAX.—The term ‘‘dis-
criminatory tax’’ means—
(A) any tax imposed by a State or political
subdivision thereof on electronic commerce
that—
(i) is not generally imposed and le-
gally collectible by such State or such polit-
ical subdivision on transactions involving
similar property, goods, services, or infor-
mation accomplished through other means;
(ii) is not generally imposed and le-
gally collectible at the same rate by such
State or such political subdivision on
transactions involving similar property,
goods, services, or information accom-
plished through other means;
(iii) imposes an obligation to collect or
pay the tax on a different person or entity
than in the case of transactions involving
similar property, goods, services, or infor-
mation accomplished through other means;
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(iv) establishes a classification of
Internet access provider or online service
provider for purposes of establishing a
higher tax rate to be imposed on such pro-
viders than the tax rate generally applied
to providers of similar information services
delivered through other means; or
(B) any tax imposed by a State or political
subdivision thereof, if—
(i) the use of a computer server by a
remote seller to create or maintain a site
on the Internet is considered a factor in
determining a remote seller’s tax collection
obligation; or
(ii) a provider of Internet access or
online services is deemed to be the agent of
a remote seller for determining tax collec-
tion obligations as a result of—
(I) the provider displaying a re-
mote seller’s information or content
on such provider’s computer server; or
(II) the provider maintaining or
taking orders through such provider’s
computer server.
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(4) ELECTRONIC COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘elec-
tronic commerce’’ means any transaction conducted
over the Internet or an online service, comprising
the sale, lease, license, offer, or delivery of property,
goods, services, or information, whether or not for
consideration, and includes the provision of Internet
access and online services.
(5) INFORMATION SERVICES.—The term ‘‘infor-
mation services’’ has the meaning given such term in
section 3(20) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 3(20)) as amended from time to time.
(6) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ means
the combination of computer facilities and electro-
magnetic transmission media, and related equipment
and software, comprising the interconnected world-
wide network of computer networks that employ the
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or
any predecessor or successor protocol, to transmit
information.
(7) INTERNET
ACCESS.—The term ‘‘Internet
access’’ means a service that enable users to access
content, information, and other services offered over
the Internet.
(8) MULTIPLE TAX.—The term ‘‘multiple tax’’
means—
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(A) any tax that is imposed by one State
or political subdivision thereof on the same or
essentially the same electronic commerce that is
also taxed by any other (or the same State, ex-
cept in the case of sales taxes) State or political
subdivision thereof whether or not at the same
rate or on the same basis without an offsetting
credit for taxes paid in other jurisdictions or
other similar mechanisms for avoiding double
taxation of the same transaction; or
(B) any tax on Internet access or online
services if the State or political subdivision
thereof classifies such services as telecommuni-
cations or communications services under State
law and such State or political subdivision
thereof has already imposed a tax on the under-
lying telecommunications services that are used
to provide such services without allowing a
credit for other taxes paid, a sale for resale ex-
emption, or other mechanism for eliminating
duplicate taxation.
(9) ONLINE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘online serv-
ice’’ means the offering or provision of content or in-
formation services to a user as part of a package of
services that are combined with Internet access.