DMA Calls Senate Moratorium Decision Good For Economy.

The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) supports the decision by the Senate in favor of a clean two-year extension of the moratorium on Internet access taxes and the moratorium on multiple and discriminatory taxes on e-commerce.

“The moratorium’s extension will allow businesses to develop and stretch their wings on the Internet,” said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. “The moratorium’s extension will ensure that e-commerce can continue to grow, and it will go a long way to bridging the digital divide. The DMA is pleased that the Senate understands the critical need for the moratorium and the growth in business that it can foster – especially in the current economic environment.”

“Resolution of the Internet access tax moratorium is a victory for the economy because it reduces the amount of uncertainty firms have about whether states will effectively reduce online traffic by putting up toll roads,” said Frank Julian, operating vice president and tax counsel, Federated Department Stores, Inc. and chairman of The DMA’s Use Tax Steering Committee. “This moratorium also provides an excellent opportunity for e-commerce to continue to develop and flourish.”

The DMA looks forward to the President expeditiously enacting this critical legislation.

The DMA is the leading and largest trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with almost 5,000 member companies from the United tates and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.7 trillion in 2000, including $110 billion in catalog sales and $28 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA’s Web Site is www.the-dma.org and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org. Information about the Internet use tax issue is at www.simplifytax.org.