WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bid to force a vote on a measure to extend the Internet tax moratorium for a short eight months died on the Senate floor Thursday after failing to win sufficient support from Senate lawmakers.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., asked unanimous consent to vote on his bill, S. 1504, which would extend the ban on taxes that specifically target the Internet until June 30, 2002. The measure also would help states simplify their state sales-tax systems as a prerequisite to allowing them to tax online sales.

All it took was an objection from Senate Minority Whip Don Nickles, R-Okla., to kill the vote.

Dorgans bill is in competition with legislation backed by Senate Commerce Committee ranking Republican John McCain, Arizona, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would extend the moratorium by two years and would place a two-year ban on Internet access taxes.

The House of Representatives passed a similar two-year extension last week, and the two-year extension was recently endorsed by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of Counties -- two groups that have traditionally supported Dorgans effort.

Proponents of the eight-month extension say anything longer will take the pressure off states to simplify their tax systems. Wyden and McCain have argued that eight months is hardly enough time for states to collapse more than 7,600 tax jurisdictions into just a few dozen.

While both sides have pledged to work together to introduce a unanimous consent agreement next week that both sides can live with, the moratorium is set to expire on Sunday, Oct. 21.

"I think come Monday morning, theres an opportunity for substantial economic mischief, where you have the prospect of thousands of taxing jurisdictions set up a crazy quilt on the tech sector," Wyden said.

Brian Krebs, Newsbytes KW