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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 19, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

In my recent speech on the future of the Internet, I called for a short-term moratorium on new and discriminatory taxes that would slow down the growth of the Internet, and a search for long-term solutions to the tax issues raised by electronic commerce. We cannot allow 30,000 state and local tax jurisdictions to stifle the Internet, but neither can we allow the erosion of the revenue that state and local governments need to fight crime and invest in education.

I believe that the agreement reached by groups representing state and local elected officials is an important and constructive step towards a long-term solution. I particularly want to thank Governors Leavitt and Romer for their bipartisan leadership on this important issue. I look forward to working with all parties with a stake in this issue to enact legislation this year.

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