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May 2007
SPECIAL NEWS ALERT ON TELECOM TAXES INCLUDING UNIVERSAL SERVICE REFORM
Getting the wrong number on fees
By Will Newton, executive director of NFIB/Texas
Special to the Star-Telegram
April 30, 2007
Do you want to pay less on your phone bill and keep more money in your pocket? Of course you do, and so do Texas' small businesses. When government allows citizens and business entrepreneurs to hold onto more of their money, our economy wins: People have more to spend, and businesses can supply consumers with more goods and services.
Our state government has the ability to return some of our hard-earned dollars by reforming the Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF), one of several fees that we all pay every month on our telephone bills. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and its 30,000 Texas members strongly urge the Public Utility Commission to revise this fee -- an authority it has been given by the Texas Legislature.
Every business and individual in Texas with a land line or cellphone has been paying this fee on intrastate charges since 1999. Now at 5 percent, the TUSF fee can be costly to small businesses that have multiple phone lines and dozens or even hundreds of employees. And higher business costs lead to higher costs paid by consumers. The bottom line is this: It's our money, and it should be returned to the hard-working men and women of Texas.
The Texas Legislature directed the PUC to study the fund last year. In November, the PUC issued a report that stated that the large carrier fund has paid out more than $3 billion of our money into telephone company coffers since 1999 and is "overdue for updating."
The NFIB agrees. Read more.
Texans paying some of the highest telecom taxes in nation, study shows
San Antonio Biz Journal
April 19, 2007
Texas has the third highest telecommunication taxes in the country, according to the results of a recent study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin. "A Texas consumer that has a home telephone, a cell phone, and cable television service pays an average of $26.51 per month just for taxes," says Bill Peacock, director of the foundation's Center for Economic Freedom. Peacock says Texas has a combined tax rate of nearly 19 percent on overall telecommunications spending. The report, "Taxes and Fees on Telecommunications Services in Texas," analyzed the monthly taxes and rates on various telecommunications services in 12 Texas cities. Read more.
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