Verizon Encourages Swift Passage in Senate of Permanent Internet Tax Moratorium

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (H.R. 3086), or ITFA, originally introduced by Reps. Robert Goodlatte (R-Virginia) and Anna Eshoo (D-California). The House measure is similar to the legislation introduced in the Senate (S. 1431) by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and John Thune (R-South Dakota). The following statement should be attributed to Peter Davidson, Verizon senior vice president, federal government relations:

“Today’s strong bipartisan vote by the U.S. House of Representatives is great news for consumers, as they are one step closer to avoiding potential new state and local taxes should the current Internet access tax moratorium expire on Nov. 1, 2014. Given the broad bipartisan support of this legislation in both chambers, it is imperative that the Senate move quickly to make the ITFA permanent, if consumers are to avoid possibly hundreds of dollars annually in new taxes.

“Verizon thanks Representatives Goodlatte and Eshoo for their leadership on this legislation. We will continue to work with them and Senators Wyden and Thune to build on this momentum and move the companion legislation quickly through the Senate.”

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 103 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries. A Dow 30 company with more than $120 billion in 2013 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 176,900. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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