Hiding Cell Phone Taxes Doesn't Make Them Go Away
Date : 23 Jan 2008 Category : Business
Techdirt
The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case regarding whether cell phone companies should be allowed to list taxes as separate line items on customer bills. Apparently, certain state governments have begun passing laws prohibiting companies from listing taxes as separate line-items on customer bills, requiring them instead to build those costs into the base prices they charge consumers. Cell phone companies argue that this makes it impossible for them to establish uniform nationwide pricing because they have to adjust the prices in each state to reflect the varying tax burden. This seems to me to be a pretty clear-cut effort by state governments to avoid scrutiny of the taxes they impose. Voters ultimately end up paying these costs whether they're listed separately on the bill or not, so this seems like little more than an attempt by state legislators to avoid accountability. Taxpayers have every right to know what fraction of their bills are going to the government. With the Supreme Court declining to weigh in on the issue, the issue has gone back to the FCC for further consideration. I hope they'll continue to push for greater transparency. Of course, it should be noted that the companies hands aren't totally clean here. While phone companies should be allowed to list extra fees when they're actually required to hand the money over to the government, we've noted before that they shouldn't be allowed to label as "fees" money they're planning to keep for themselves.
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