LANSING, Mich., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Michiganians won't have to worry during the next seven years about tax hiking politicians in our State Capitol imposing a tax on e-mail and instant messages transmitted on our home personal computers (PCs)," stated Bill McMaster, State Chairman (Volunteer), Taxpayers United Michigan Foundation.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) had assigned a major lobbying force in Michigan and Washington, DC to fight against making permanent the nine-year ban on state and local governments assessing taxes on Internet access and other provisions which were due to expire November 1.

"To some extent she succeeded," McMaster noted. "Although there was more than a majority in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to permanently ban such Internet taxes, the National Governors Association managed to persuade Congress to extend the ban for only seven more years."

Despite Gov. Granholm's initial claim "We need the money!" four years ago, and again during the National Governors Conference in Traverse City, MI last summer, the U.S. House today concurred with the U.S. Senate and approved a seven-year extension of the ban by a 402-0 vote and sent it to the White House for President George W. Bush's signature.

"Seven years is better than nothing, and that's what we're doing today," said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich, during comments on the House floor.

McMaster and Taxpayers United, the oldest and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots statewide organization in Michigan, have been engaged in public interest education in support of needed legislation to keep federal, state and local governments from ambushing family homes with state Internet taxes prohibited without first obtaining voter consent in compliance with the 1978 Headlee Tax Limitation Amendment voted by the people into our Michigan Constitution.

Taxpayers United Michigan Foundation (TUMF) is an outgrowth of Taxpayers United founded in 1976 to muster statewide support for the successful 1978 Headlee Tax Limitation Amendment led by Dick Headlee, civic activist/insurance company president (died 2005).

Milton Friedman (died 2006) learned from then Headlee Amendment Campaign Director McMaster that he won the Nobel Prize in Economics while campaigning across Michigan establishing his famous axiom: "Corporations don't pay taxes. People do!"

For 31 years, Bill McMaster has continued as TUMF State Chairman (Volunteer) defending citizen rights under our Michigan Constitution. TUMF has always been headquartered in the offices of McMaster Marketing & PR but is now qualified to receive tax deductible contributions under IRS Code 501(c)(3) "Education in the Public Interest."

CONTACT: Bill McMaster, State Chairman (Volunteer), Taxpayers United MI
Foundation, Cell, +1-248-798-8501, or Office, +1-586-991-0970