Officials from more than half of the 50 states are meeting in Chicago to vote on a plan to simplify tax rates, a move that state governments hope will prompt Congress to permit levying sales taxes on online purchases.

Last year, Congress extended a moratorium on Internet taxes that expires November 2003. Over the next year, mayors and governors will lobby Congress to permit taxes, while online retailers and free-market groups will ask for another extension on the moratorium.

Read more: CNet News.