As C4L President John Tate wrote in his action alert to C4L members this morning, "Harry Reid is hell-bent on RAMMING the Internet Tax Mandate through the Senate."
We've noted previously how eager Senator Reid has been to force this legislation through the upper chamber, using a procedural move to skip the committee process and preventing senators from properly vetting and amending this controversial legislation.
The Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the Internet Tax Mandate after 5:30 PM this evening.
Contact your senators today at 202-224-3121 and demand they oppose the so-called "Marketplace 'Fairness' Act!"
As more attention is turning to this legislation, more members of Congress continue to speak out.
This weekend, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) published an op-ed in Real Clear Politics called "Why I Oppose the Internet Tax Bill."
The misleadingly titled Marketplace Fairness Act is a job-killing tax hike, plain and simple. It is, in effect, a national Internet sales tax, which would hammer the little guy and benefit giant corporations.
He went on to ask,
ow is it fair for a Texas business to collect taxes to support California Gov. Jerry Brown’s big spending? Or to underwrite New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s nanny statism or Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s anti-Second Amendment agenda?
In addition, his YouTube page uploaded a short video this morning, encouraging people to speak out against this ill-conceived tax legislation.
In the House, where the legislation will head next if the Senate indeed passes it this evening, battle lines are already being drawn, with hardline new-comers Thomas Massie (KY-4) and Jim Bridenstine (OK-1) coming out strongly opposed to the Internet Tax Mandate. Last week, Rep. Bridenstine posted a video to YouTube explaining his opposition:
Just take a look at their respective Facebook and Twitter pages to see all the posts on this issue:
Thomas Massie - Facebook | Twitter
Jim Bridenstine - Facebook | Twitter
This is a fight that we can win, but it's going to take the efforts of C4L Members from across the country reaching out to their representatives and senators with a clear message, "Don't Tax the Net."
UPDATE: The Senate vote on final passage was 69-27. (A six vote swing our direction in just two weeks - imagine if Harry Reid had brought it up under regular order.)
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