Skip to main content

Call for Scrapping Mobile Phone 'Vice' Tax

The CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent used the impending tax-filing deadline to reiterate the wireless industry's support for repealing the antiquated Federal Excise Tax (FET).

The tax, first instituted in 1898 to finance the Spanish-American War, adds 3 percent to the monthly bill of every wireline and wireless user in America. Today, there are more than 212 million wireless subscribers in the nation.

"Today's wireless user is buried under a heap of taxes and fees," said Largent. "The average wireless subscriber in America pays more than 17 percent (wireline is more than 20 percent) of his or her monthly bill in taxes and fees. That's nothing short of outrageous."

The Federal Excise Tax has been the target of numerous legal challenges over the past several years, and no fewer than three U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals have found the levy to be illegal. A report in today's Wall Street Journal suggests that federal government officials have decided to abandon their defense of the beleaguered tax and may be entertaining a tax-payer refund.

"If the government has in fact decided to abandon their defense of the FET and is moving toward a full repeal and tax-payer refund, I congratulate and applaud their decision," continued Largent. "This would represent a significant and much needed tax cut for wireless users in America, and I encourage the federal government to move quickly in this direction."

BTW, did you know that all telecom services are taxed at such a high rate in the U.S. that it's similar to taxation on alcohol and tobacco products? Apparently, the various federal, state and local government entities that inflict these combined taxes and fees on consumers consider the act of 'making a phone call' to be a vice.

Popular posts from this blog

How Cloud Fuels Digital Business Transformation

Across the globe, many CEOs invested in initiatives to expand their digital offerings. User experience enhancements that are enabled by business technology were a priority in many industries. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 21.7 percent to a total of $597.3 billion in 2023 -- that's up from $491 billion in 2022, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Cloud computing is driving the next phase of digital transformation, as organizations pursue disruption through technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, and enterprise Metaverse. Public Cloud Computing Market Development "Hyperscale cloud providers are driving the cloud agenda," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . Organizations view cloud computing as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation initiatives, which requires providers to offer new capabilities as the competition for digital business escalates. "For example, generativ

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year