Upcoming Mallesons seminarsIn 1997, the US declared the Internet a tax free zone in a report titled A Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. The US Congress is expected to consider a bill early in 1998 that proposes a 5 year moratorium on new Internet taxes. The primary purpose of the bill is to give federal, state and local governments time to develop a viable plan for the collection of Internet taxes in the US.
It is not yet clear whether Australia will follow suit. This year the ATO released a report on Tax and the Internet, and there have been recent reports that the ATO is considering a number of taxation options, including a special tax on credit card transactions conducted on the Internet. However, the Commonwealth Government's December 1997 industry statement "Investing for Growth" states that an a major initiative of the Government includes "facilitating electronic commerce through commitments to removing tariffs on information industries inputs, ensuring goods ordered and delivered electronically will remain customs duty free and that there will be no 'bits' tax on the Internet (ie there will be no tax based on the amount of information transmitted across the Internet)...". The Commonwealth Government anticipates a comprehensive review of the legal and regulatory framework in this area.