118 STAT. 2618 PUBLIC LAW 108–435—DEC. 3, 2004 ‘‘SEC. 1108. EXCEPTION FOR VOICE SERVICES OVER THE INTERNET. ‘‘Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the imposition of tax on a charge for voice or similar service utilizing Internet Protocol or any successor protocol. This section shall not apply to any services that are incidental to Internet access, such as voice capable e mail or instant messaging.’’. SEC. 6A. EXCEPTION FOR TEXAS MUNICIPAL ACCESS LINE FEE. The Internet Tax Freedom Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note), as amended by section 6, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘SEC. 1109. EXCEPTION FOR TEXAS MUNICIPAL ACCESS LINE FEE. ‘‘Nothing in this Act shall prohibit Texas or a political subdivi sion thereof from imposing or collecting the Texas municipal access line fee pursuant to Texas Local Govt. Code Ann. ch. 283 (Vernon 2005) and the definition of access line as determined by the Public Utility Commission of Texas in its ‘Order Adopting Amendments to Section 26.465 As Approved At The February 13, 2003 Public Hearing’, issued March 5, 2003, in Project No. 26412.’’. SEC. 7. GAO STUDY OF EFFECTS OF INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND ON BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT. The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the impact of the Internet tax moratorium, including its effects on the revenues of State and local governments and on the deployment and adoption of broadband technologies for Internet access throughout the United States, including the impact of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note) on build out of broadband technology resources in rural underserved areas of the country. The study shall compare deployment and adoption rates in States that tax broadband Inter net access service with States that do not tax such service, and take into account other factors to determine whether the Internet Tax Freedom Act has had an impact on the deployment or adoption of broadband Internet access services. The Comptroller General shall report the findings, conclusions, and any recommendations from the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce no later than November 1, 2005. Reports. Deadline.
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