The last book or piece of clothing you snagged online for less than retail might not be such a bargain if the Senate says no to keeping the Internet free of new taxation.

The Internet Tax Freedom Act banning discriminatory taxation of the Internet expired last week. But Jennifer Holder, executive vice president of www.NoInternetTax.org, said chances are good the act will be extended for another two years.

“They (the Senate) are going to allow the Internet Freedom Act to expire, and act on it next week. Last Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to expand it for two years, and we expect the Senate to do the same,” she said.

In 1998, Congress enacted a three-year moratorium, or ban, on new Internet taxes and appointed the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, consisting of federal, state, local and private government representatives. The commission studies the issue and makes legislative recommendations on future Internet tax policy. In 2000, the ACEC first met to determine whether or not the moratorium should be renewed.

The site www.NoInternetTax.org was formed to educate Americans about what was at stake during the moratorium process and to protect the Internet and consumers from unnecessary regulations and taxation, according to a statement by the organization.

Congress has discussed terms of the renewal since earlier this year, but a main issue stalling the debate is the Streamlined Sales Tax Project.

The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled states are prohibited from collecting existing use, or out-of-state taxes from remote online sellers. States can only require sellers to have a presence in that particular state to collect taxes. There are about 7,500 state and local taxing jurisdictions across the country. These differing jurisdictions can be cumbersome to business in today’s economy. The Streamlined Sales Tax Project, spearheaded by the National Governors Association, was developed to simplify states’ sales and usage taxes, making it easier for online and mail-order businesses to collect levies.

According to a statement by the NGA, reforming the current tax system is critical to effective commerce in the economy, and businesses will save millions of dollars by eliminating costs and inefficiencies. Retailers and e-tailers will be treated equally, and state and local governments will be able to continue counting on sales tax revenue to support schools, roads and police officers.

“The streamlining project is something we are concerned with because it causes an undue burden on a business for somewhere they didn’t do business in,” Holder said.

Holder said the streamlined taxes are unnecessary, and the taxes consumers already pay for online purchases are adequate.

“There is a tax on things you buy online. E-commerce is taxed exactly the same as if you bought something out of a catalog or from QVC. Internet purchases are subject to the same rules. We’re just trying to keep unnecessary taxes from occurring,” she said of www.NoInternet.org.

Some large online businesses are promoting streamlined taxation because it would run smaller businesses that cannot keep up with the rules and laws of 7,500 different taxing authorities, out-of-business.

“The Streamlined Sales Tax Project would only stifle the growth of e-commerce,” Holder said.