The House of Representatives has already passed its own legislation extending the tax ban indefinitely. However, state concerns that the language used in the Senate bill (sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and George Allen (R-VA) is too broad have stalled proceedings in the upper house.

Under the terms of the legislation currently under consideration, the ban on taxing internet access would become permanent. However, the bill also expands the definition of internet access to cover all telecommunications services which can be used to surf the web.

State authorities have expressed concerns that this could cost them in the region of $9 billion annually in lost taxes.

In order to resolve the situation, Senator Lamar Alexander has proposed an amendment which would extend the recently expired moratorium, which importantly is narrower in scope, for another two years, in order to allow a suitable compromise to be found.