WASHINGTON-Bills are now pending in both the House and Senate to repeal the 3-percent tax on talking after Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) introduced a bill Tuesday.
“Common sense dictates that repeal of the telephone excise tax is long overdue. Communication is not a luxury. It has become part of the basic fabric of our social and economic life. The growth of the technologies on which communications rides and the widespread use of communications in general should be encouraged and not taxed. The telephone tax is a regressive, inequitable, inefficient and unnecessary tax that congressional policy-makers have found to serve no rational policy purpose,” said Santorum.
CTIA praised Santorum, reiterating its view of the excessive taxes paid by wireless subscribers.
“Wireless users are among the most heavily taxed consumers in America,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “While consumers have watched the price of a wireless minute decrease by an overwhelming 81 percent in the last decade, excessive taxes and fees like the 3-percent federal excise tax have wrongly prevented them from realizing the true savings they deserve.”
The wireless industry has lobbied unsuccessfully to kill the tax, which dates back to the Spanish-American War, since the late 1990s, coming close in the waning days of the Clinton administration when both houses of Congress passed versions of legislation. Despite industry and legislative backing for the tax’s elimination, it’s a tough sell because the tax on talking is not earmarked and can be said to be used to reduce the federal deficit. Last year, there was even consideration of increasing the tax on talking to 4 percent.
