Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (129911)	6/25/2003 2:18:00 PM
From: Mr. Sunshine	Respond to of 152472

Cell Phone Bills Taxing Consumers Taxes Weigh Heavily For Cell Phone Users thesandiegochannel.com POSTED: 10:19 a.m. PDT June 18, 2003 UPDATED: 11:13 a.m. PDT June 18, 2003 SAN DIEGO -- The price most people pay for cell phone service is often 20 percent higher than it should be. One cell phone company advertises service for $45 a month. But there's a catch. Actually, there are 13 catches... all those extra fees at the bottom of the bill. Politicians will tell you it's the phone company adding surcharges disguised as taxes. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon recently sued Sprint and Nextel. But here's what the politicians won't tell you: most of those charges are really government taxes and fees because the government loves to tax cell phone use. The real problem is taxes. It's a hard thing to say because local governments need monetary sources, but the amount of taxes on phone bills, whether it's wireless or land-line, have, in some instances, gotten to as much as 30 and 40 percent of the bill. Examine a Sprint bill from New York: a local wireless tax, a federal tax, a city sales tax, a state sales tax. a state wireless 911 surcharge and a local wireless 911 surcharge. And there's more: a special local fee, a local surcharge, a state gross receipts tax, a state excise tax, plus a federal universal service fund charge. That's 11 government charges, adding 22.6 percent to the bill. And it's not as though other industries are hit as hard. Cable television taxes average in the 5 to 6 percent range. The wireless industry is the new kid on the block, and it's customers are an easy target. Unfortunately, until consumers realize that they're gonna have to tell their state and local officials that enough is enough, consumers will continue to see increased taxes. Those who'd like to roll back some of these taxes should take a look at America's history. The basic phone tax in this country is a 3 percent excise tax that was supposed to be temporary, 105 years ago. It was first collected in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish American War.