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House Bans New Cell Taxes for 5 Years

Article Comments  6  

Nov 2, 2011, 7:21 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

The House of Representatives has approved a measure that prevents state and local governments from adding any new taxes to cell phones bills for a period of five years. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, sponsor of the legislation, said, "We need to encourage the development and adoption of wireless broadband, not tax it out of existence." Lofgren pointed out that the rate at which wireless services are taxed often exceeds the taxes levied on goods such as alcohol and tobacco. The tax rate on wireless services varies, but the legislation cited the 26.8% tax rate in Baltimore, the 20.4% tax rate in New York City, and the 19.9% tax rate in Omaha, Neb., as extreme examples of how out of control wireless taxes are. In response, the CTIA Wireless Association said, "On behalf of the 300 million wireless customers in the U.S., CTIA applauds the Wireless Tax Fairness Act's lead sponsors. Today's vote is a crucial step toward providing wireless subscribers with some much needed relief by putting a five-year freeze on new, discriminatory taxes and fees on their monthly bills. In light of the challenging economy, we hope the U.S. Senate moves swiftly to pass the companion bill." Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Olympia Snowe of Maine have introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

Wireless Week / AP »

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Versed

Nov 2, 2011, 4:13 PM

While I agree.....

While I like the idea of this, I do find it funny how Conservative and Tea Bagger Republicans talk States Rights, until its something they don't like.
Kind of like the way that Marxist Democrats like Obama champion 'choice' about abortion, but reject giving parents the right to choose school their children attend, and oppose allowing workers a choice about whether or not to join a labor union. Peop...
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justfinethanku

Nov 2, 2011, 3:26 PM

no ban on federal taxes?

Seems like a way for the federal government to gain even more control of the state.
GettingSleepy

Nov 2, 2011, 9:39 AM

How about a cap?

My mother was paying like $0.10 per month in taxes for her air card on Verizon in El Paso Texas. Is it fair that they can't up their taxes a bit if they need to,yet other states are already higher?
where I live, I get taxed about 6% on my cell phone bill. If they raised it to more like 10%, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
 
 
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