WASHINGTON-Reps. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Bob Matsui (D-Calif.) last week unveiled legislation to repeal the 3 percent federal excise tax on wireless and wireline telephone calls.
In the past, similar bills offered by telecom lawmakers have not fared well in Congress.
But that could change. Matsui and Portman, both House Ways and Means Committee members, have a strategy to gather broad support by characterizing the tax as regressive and a threat to the high-tech New Economy.
“There’s no question this 3 percent tax is a deterrent to the Internet,” said Matsui, without citing data to back his claim.
Portman called the tax a big money grab by the government. He said the tax “takes a big bite out of low-income families.”
The joint committee on taxation shortly will determine how much the proposed tax repeal will cost.
