Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 3.djvu/498

 113 STAT. 2016 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—NOV. 19, 1999 engaged in interstate and foreign commerce to multiple, confusing, and burdensome taxation, but also to restrict the growth and continued technological maturation of the Internet itself; Whereas the complexity of the issue of domestic taxation of electronic commerce is compounded when considered at the global level with almost 200 separate national governments; Whereas the First Annual Report of the United States Government Working Group on Electronic Commerce found that fewer than 10,000,000 people worldwide were using the Internet in 1995, that more than 140,000,000 people worldwide were using the Internet in 1998, and that more than 1,000,000,000 people worldwide will be using the Internet in the first decade of the next century; Whereas information technology industries have accounted for more than one-third of real growth in the United States' Gross Domestic Product over the past 3 years; Whereas information technology industries employ more than 7,000,000 people in the United States, and by 2006 more than half of the United States workforce is expected to be employed in industries that are either major producers or intensive users of information technology products and services; Whereas electronic commerce among businesses worldwide is expected to grow from $43,000,000,000 in 1998 to more than $1,300,000,000,000 by 2003, and electronic retail sales to consumers worldwide are expected to grow from $8,000,000,000 in 1998 to more than $108,000,000,000 by 2003; Whereas the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 enacted a policy against special, multiple, and discriminatory taxation of the Internet and electronic commerce, and stated that United States policy should be to seek bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements to remove barriers to global electronic commerce; Whereas the World Trade Organization, at its May 1998 ministerial conference, adopted a declaration that all 132 member countries "will continue their current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions"; Whereas the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and industry groups issued a joint declaration at an October 1998 ministerial meeting on global electronic commerce opposing special, multiple, and discriminatory taxation of the electronic commerce and the Internet; Whereas the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has stated that neutrality, efficiency, certainty, simplicity, effectiveness, fairness, and flexibility are the broad principles that should govern the taxation of electronic commerce; Whereas the United States has issued joint statements on electronic commerce with Australia, the European Union, France, Ireland, Japan, and the Republic of Korea opposing special, multiple, and discriminatory taxation of electronic commerce; and Whereas a July 1999 United Nations Report on Human Development urged world governments to impose "bit taxes" on electronic transmissions, raising concerns that United States policy against special, multiple, and discriminatory taxation of the Internet may be undermined: Now, therefore, be it

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