US President George W. Bush has urged Congress to slap a permanent ban on the taxes consumers pay for high-speed Internet connections, reports Associated Press. Bush has set 2007 as a deadline for providing speedy Internet access to every American home, and has acknowledged that America is lagging in getting broadband available nationwide, the report says. To encourage the spread of this technology, Bush says the users should not be taxed, and that is something I can agree with totally. Despite all the barbs about the president, he seems to be getting the right kind of advice on Broadband. If I could vote, he would get mine.

Cato Institute’s Director of Telecommunications Studies Adam Thierer says: “If Congress fails to renew the Internet Access Tax moratorium, it could open the floodgates of state and local taxation of online services and activities. We should not let state and local government turn this global medium into their latest cash cow.”