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January 20, 2006The 3% federal excise tax on your phone bill "was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War"For the love of...
NEW YORK — Some say it's absurd. According to seven federal courts, it's also illegal. But one thing is for sure: America's excise tax on phone service has soaked consumers for more than a century.
(via Kottke.org)Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., recently introduced legislation in the House — supported by 98 co-sponsors — aimed at repealing the tax, which was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War. The war was over in six months, but the tax stayed. The general excise tax has so far cost consumers about $300 billion, says the Congressional Research Service. The entire Spanish-American War cost only about $6 billion, adjusted for inflation. AT&T says the tax is grossly unfair to consumers. "This is a 19th-century tax on a 21st-century technology," says Jim Cicconi, AT&T's general counsel. "It makes no sense, and it ought to be repealed." |
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