US vice-president candidate backs net tax

Democrat Vice-Presidential candidate Senator Joe Lieberman said the Democrat campaign is committed to extending the moratorium on internet taxation by up to five years.

Lieberman was speaking at the autumn Gartner Symposium/ITxpo yesterday. Gartner analysts had earlier predicted that they would not be surprised if taxation of purchases on the internet arrived by as early as 2003.

However, Al Gore's running mate did not disagree with the view of Gartner group vice president Tom Austin that "tax-free internet business is an aberration" and won't last.

A commission on internet taxation, convened by the US government, failed to reach a conclusion earlier this year, but Lieberman said that arguments, not least from conventional business seeking equitable treatment, will eventually force the introduction of taxation.

Lieberman pledged to make US government services available on the internet on a round-the-clock basis, and to appoint a person responsible for security and privacy in every government agency. He also promised that the security of agencies would be regularly audited.

Some things in politics don't vary though and Lieberman failed to back up his commitments on increased delivery of internet services or wider access with any spending commitments.