Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

"This creates the potential for Wi-Fi on steroids," said Michael Calabrese, director of the wireless future program at the New America Foundation, ...

No doubt, taxes are complicated. A good example of this complexity is the Alternative Minimum Tax or AMT which is part of our income tax. This is a flawed tax that ignores principles of good tax policy and generates revenue beyond expectation. While Congress is currently trying to keep millions of individuals from paying AMT in 2007, outright repeal would be best.

In 1998, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act to help the Internet grow.

Congress generously used state and local government tax bases for this assistance rather than federal funds. The act imposed a three-year moratorium on state and local taxes on Internet access and multiple or discriminatory taxes on e-commerce.

Taxes already in existence on Oct. 1, 1998, were allowed to continue. Congress extended the generosity of state and local governments twice more by renewing the moratorium, which now expires Nov. 1.