Refund of Long-Distance Telephone Taxes

pertelote writes "Over 108 years after financing the Spanish American War, the tax on long-distance phone calls is finally being repealed. The IRS is supposed to refund our last three years worth of taxes for both landlines and cell phones on our returns next year. The phone companies sued because they did not want the hassle of collecting the tax. The tax is no longer in effect on 31 July, 2006." Don't get too excited about a big windfall. From the article: "Consumers, who pay about 40 percent of the taxes collected, typically pay about $18 a year in excise taxes if they have a long-distance service and a cellphone. They will be able to file for a refund on their 2006 federal income tax returns."

If you have VoIP, double check your bill.

[XorNand]

The Federal Excise Tax is typically the only tax that US-based VoIP carriers charge their subscribers (if they charge any). Having help start a VoIP company myself, I never understood why other providers charged this tax. We were advised by council that VoIP is not classfied as a "telecommunications service" but rather an "information service" by the FCC, hence was not subject to the tax. Therefore we've never collected a dime in taxes (other than sales tax on equipment sales, of course). I wouldn't expect Vonage to be pocketing that extra 3%, but I wouldn't put it past some of the other companies out there.

FYI: The "Regulatory Recovery Fee" isn't a tax, it's a surcharge that carriers levy to offset the cost of having to comply with federal regulations. However, IMHO, it's a bit disingenuous for VoIP companies to charge this fee since they aren't actually regulated.

Re:If you have VoIP, double check your bill.

[faedle]

While we might not be "regulated", many VoIP companies use the "Regulatory fees" to recover their costs when those same fees are passed on to us on the circuits we buy. Facilities-based providers (especially small ones that are buying DIDs "PBX-style" on T1s) are often paying fees and taxes on those lines the same way a medium-size business would.

But, on the other hand, if you think the "regulatory compliance fees" you pay on your landline bill don't just go into the pocket of the phone company, you need to actually read the laws. A lot of the money from these things (including the "Interstate access fee") simply goes into funds that the phone companies draw upon to pay taxes and business expenses that any other business (like, say, the corner grocery store) would just simply add into their profit and loss calculations..

Re:I have a better idea on how we can save money

[paiute]

I don't want a refund. I want my money to go toward funding the FBI teams that are going after Rep. Jefferson. I want them expanded by several hundred agents and to have what happened to Jefferson to happen to the entire Congress. You want to save money? Bush the sons of bitches who spend nearly $2B on bridges to nowhere, $1B on repairing and then moving a perfectly good railroad and all of that other pork barrel crap. Sorry, they can keep my $18/year in exchange for the FBI continuing to go after these scumbags. I'd consider that some of the best $18 I've ever spent.

Problem is, the system rewards those who bring home the pork. See, the pork spent in your district is an investment, the pork spent in the other guy's state is wasted. We can put the whole of Congress in FPYITA prison. The newly-elected replacements will preach financial responsibility and restraint for about two election cycles, then it will be right back where it was.

Maybe they could tackle this tax next....

[i_want_you_to_throw_]

The myriad of taxes on airline tickets. Ever since 1980 the feds have put a 10% tax on all airline tickets and the fund is doing nothing except offsetting the deficit. If you think about it, that's a ton of money. Airports got fed up and start charging PFC (passenger facility charges) which you see on yout ticket ranging from 3.00 - 6.00.

Ever pay attention to the taxes on your tickets after you buy them? In some low cost fare markets it increases the cost by almost 100%.

Then there's the "fuel surcharges" that airlines charge that never get refunded or repealed.

At least regarding long distance I have a choice NOT to use a meatspace carrier like Verizon. Give me help with air travel! Yikes!

Re:The Nature of Taxes

[im_mac]

That would be the Johnstown Flood tax and it was passed in 1936. Here's the PA Restaurants lobbying for a better alcohol taxes [parestaurant.org] and giving a bit more info.

Re:Income Tax

[ozmanjusri]

Many of us pay over 50% in taxes

There's probably plenty of you who pay more than that. This year, your Tax Freedom Day falls on June 3 Tax Freedom Day [adamsmith.org]

Re:Photo Op?

[Anonymous Coward]

After all his clone on this side of the pond did not bother getting on board of the HMS Illustrious to declare the end of the Great War with Germany finally over on the 24th November 2005.

Well, not for us Germans. In 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm introduced a champagne tax (which actually affects everything above a certain alcohol level) to finance the German navy. It was abolished 1933 but reintroduced 1939 (again, to pay for the fleet and the war in general). It still exists... :)

Re:The Nature of Taxes

[plague3106]

PA has bigger problems relating to alcohol than taxing.

Foremost, the state controls all alcohol sales. Last I heard though, they were doign to do a 'trial' and allow some grocery stores to sell beer and wine. What a forward thinking state! Nevermind that I think every state surrounding it has already allowed those alcohol products (and more) to be sold just about everywhere.

Unfortunatly PA is ruled by a bunch of 80 year olds that don't want anything to change from the 1930s. Philadelphia offsets this somewhat, but when you have the second highest number of elderly in the country, don't bet on anything changing soon.

Re:The Nature of Taxes

[geoffrobinson]

Please don't underestimate the entrenched problems in Philadelphia.

But yes, the case law for beer, state stores, etc. needs to go. Although they do get good discounts on wine due to volume purchases.

Re:Income Tax

[Uncle Kadigan]

Tax Freedom Day is calculated using a flawed methodology and is not representative of middle-class tax burdens. [cbpp.org]

Re:I have a better idea on how we can save money

[monoqlith]

Please. Rush amassed over 2,000 pills of Oxycontin to feed his habit. This is equivalent under the law to trafficking in opiates(like Heroin), and usually such an offense requires a sentence of something like 20 - 25 years. However, his charges were reduced to "doctor shopping" for only 40 pills. Now, you tell me that's not getting off easy, considering he could easily be in jail for the rest of his natural life. Ans since he regularly rails on drug-addicts and other ne'er -do-wells on his show, the whole thing stinks of hypocrisy and favoritism.

The law should be the same no matter where you are in society or who you are in the public eye. This applies to Congressmen and radio pundits alike.

Re:If it were private industry

[mpe]

It'd be more like a company raised its prices because its suppliers were charging them more, then decided to keep them at that level when it discovered that the market would bear that price even after its suppliers' prices dropped again.

The oil companies have been doing this for a long time. If the price of oil goes up the price of oil products tends to go up quickly, but if the price goes down the excuse tends to be "the stuff your putting in your car is made from oil we bought a few months back"...

Re:I have a better idea on how we can save money

[LunaticTippy]

You are in error. Rush was NEVER charged with any such thing. There was never even a hint of 'prescription fraud'.

Well, here is the summary from a fox news article [foxnews.com] (emphasis mine)

Rush Limbaugh must submit to random drug tests under an agreement filed Monday that will dismiss a prescription fraud charge against the conservative commentator after 18 months if he complies with the terms.

So, you're wrong about that.

Personally, I think the government has no business in our chemical intake.
I'm against the investigation against Mr. Limbaugh.
I think it's funny and ironic that he was caught in the same machine that he fought to justify, but I'm still against it.

I'd like for our government to respect everybody's privacy. I fight against government growing its power as I can. That doesn't stop me from laughing at someone who gets caught up in something I disapprove of when they have lobbied for it.