Congress wants to tax the internet

From Ron Paul at Campaign For Liberty:

You and I fought long and hard...

We thought it was defeated...

But now it's back from the dead -- and it's coming for YOU!

No, I am not talking zombies or vampires.

I'm talking about the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate!

For three years, Campaign for Liberty members have stopped every attempt to pass legislation imposing new taxes and regulations on the Internet...

But, like deranged mad scientists, the Big Government, big business cabal in Congress will not let the Monster stay dead.

They are lurking in the shadows, waiting for the lame-duck session of Congress where they plan to ram the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate into law.

Taking cues from a Scooby Doo villain, they've disguised the Monster as a "compromise" that protects small businesses and consumers.

But when our gang rips that mask off, all versions of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate still:

***Raise prices on online goods

***Force businesses to comply with out-of-state tax laws

***Impose new regulations on the Internet that could prevent development of the next Amazon or eBay

This is a treat for the special interests...

But a trick for the American people!

I'm confident you and I can slay the Internet Sales Tax Mandate monster once again.

But we need to act now!

So please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators today.

Right now, members of Congress are explicitly sensitive to the views of the people...

So if they see anti-Internet Sales Tax petitions coming into their offices in the days before the election, they are more likely to stand with us in opposition to taxing the Internet.

It is vital we get as many Representatives and Senators as possible on record in opposition to the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate before Congress returns for the lame-duck session.

I don't want to scare you, but...

The fact is, the powerful forces behind the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate are closer than ever to victory.

You see, earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- the ringleader of the Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the Senate -- promised they would vote on the bill in 2016.

Senator McConnell has yet to fulfill his promise, most likely because he did not want to force vulnerable Republican Senators to choose between the people and the special interests before the election.

But in the lame-duck, he will think he is safe to move this bill since the people are burned out on politics and too busy with the holidays to pay attention to Congress.

So we must let Senator McConnell and his colleagues know that we are not going to back down -- instead, we will keep the heat on the Senate through the lame-duck!

But the Senate is not our only, or even our main, threat.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has recently endorsed the version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate that has been proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte.

Ryan and Goodlatte claim their plan is "fair" to small businesses, even though -- unlike the Senate plan -- this bill does not include a small business exemption from the mandate.

And even if the Ryan-Goodlate plan is fair for business, it's not fair for consumers!

Like every other version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, the Ryan-Goodlate plan raises prices on your online purchases.

But unlike other versions, the Ryan-Goodlatte plan doesn't even exempt small businesses from the mandate!

The Ryan-Goodlatte plan also imposes a complex and costly tax collection scheme on online commerce.

Proponents of the Ryan-Goodlate plan claim that these costs will be borne by state governments.

But you and I know that state-level bureaucrats and politicians will find a way to make sure the costs are "passed along" to consumers and taxpayers.

The Ryan-Goodlatte plan rewards tax-hungry governors and state legislators by giving them a fresh source of revenue, allowing them to continue their fiscally irresponsible ways.

This will only make the inevitable day of reckoning all the more painful.

Now, Capitol Hill sources have told me that Goodlatte is working with House supporters of the Senate version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate to find a "compromise" version of the legislation.

And you know that President Obama will be doing all he can to help broker such a compromise.

He would love to add "signed the National Internet Sales Tax Law" to his list of "accomplishments."

The good news is, Paul Ryan has not made any public pledges to vote on the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

If he knows that we will not accept any phony "compromise" that burdens the Internet with taxes and regulations, he will likely back down on his plan.

So please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax" petition to your Representative and Senators asking them to publicly pledge to oppose any version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the lame-duck session.

And please make a generous contribution of $15, $10, or $5 to help Campaign for Liberty mobilize more Americans in opposition to the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

With your support, we will be able to contact thousands more anti-tax Americans in the weeks before the elections and keep the heat on Congress during the lame-duck session.

If funds permit, Campaign for Liberty will also run ads targeting wavering politicians across the Internet and social media.

In order to defeat the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, you and I will need to keep the pressure on Congress from now until the end of the lame-duck.

But in order to do that, C4L will need resources we simply do not have.

While Campaign for Liberty's financial position has improved over the last few months, we still do not have the resources to even plan, much less run, the type of intensive, month-long program it will take to guarantee our success over the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

So if you can, please make a generous contribution of $15.

I know that is a lot, but with Paul Ryan now pushing a version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate, and with Mitch McConnell's pledge to act on it, the threat that a tax-free Internet could become a thing of the past is closer than ever.

So if $15 is too much, is there any way I can count on you for a special contribution of $10?

If we raise the resources this month, Campaign for Liberty can ramp up its efforts to get Representatives on record opposing the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate by running hard-hitting Internet ads before the election.

So if $10 is too much, could you make a contribution of $5?

And whatever you contribute, please make sure you sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators.

In Liberty,

Ron Paul
Chairman

P.S. Like mad scientists in a bad horror movie, special interests and their Congressional allies are reviving the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate for passage in the lame-duck session.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell promised Senate action, and House Speaker Paul Ryan is now pushing a new version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate.

If they get their way, online commerce could soon be crippled with taxes and regulations.

That's why you and I must turn up the heat on Congress starting now -- when they are listening especially closely to grassroots activists.

Please sign your "No Lame-Duck Internet Sales Tax Mandate" petition to your Representative and Senators demanding they pledge to oppose any legislation containing any version of the National Internet Sales Tax Mandate in the lame-duck session.