Second Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. R980865.01 BJA
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVES Hagedorn, Agler, Clarke, May, and Tate;
also SENATORS Schroeder, B. Alexander, Ament, Matsunaka, Wattenberg, Wells, and Wham.
FINANCE
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-1018
WHEREAS, The Internet is a massive global network
spanning local government, state, and international borders; and
WHEREAS, Transmissions over the Internet are made
through packetswitching, a process that makes it not only
impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the precise
geographic route or endpoints of specific Internet transmissions
but infeasible to separate interstate from intrastate Internet
transmissions or domestic from foreign transmissions; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled
that state taxation of companies operating outside the borders
of the state is constitutional only if there is a substantial
connection between the state and the company and the tax is fairly
apportioned, does not discriminate against interstate commerce,
and is fairly related to services provided by the state; and
WHEREAS, The tax laws and regulations of local governments,
state governments, and the federal government were established
long before the Internet or interactive computer services became
available; and
WHEREAS, Taxation of Internet transmissions by local,
state, and federal governments without a thorough understanding
of the impact such taxation would have on Internet users and providers
could have unintentional and unpredictable consequences and may
be unconstitutional if it does not meet the tests set forth by
the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress is being asked
to consider federal legislation that would establish a national
policy on the taxation of the Internet and other interactive computer
services; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives
of the Sixtyfirst General Assembly of the State of Colorado,
the Senate concurring herein:
That the Colorado General Assembly does not support
at this time any Congressional action that would establish a national
policy expanding taxation of the Internet and other interactive
computer services.
Be It Further Resolved,
That the Colorado General Assembly endorses a moratorium on taxation
of the Internet and interactive computer services until the impact
of such taxation can be thoroughly studied and evaluated.
Be It Further Resolved,
That the Colorado General Assembly encourages Congress to establish
or appoint a consultative group to study, evaluate, and report
back to Congress on the impact of any taxation on the use of the
Internet and other interactive computer services and the users
of those services.
Be It Further Resolved,
That any consultative group established or appointed by Congress
should include state and local governments, consumer and business
groups, and other groups and individuals that may be impacted
by a national policy on the taxation of the Internet and other
interactive computer services.
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, Governor Roy Romer, the National Governors' Association, and each member of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.