Schumer Calls on IRS To Refund 'Illegally Gotten' 3% Cell Phone Tax

[AngryAmish]

<http://www.nysun.com/article/25906>

"Senator Schumer has finally found a tax he opposes - the 3% federal excise tax tacked onto every cell phone bill in America.

Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled the tax illegal because it applies to calls that are measured in distance. Cell phone conversations are measured in time. Two other federal appeals courts with jurisdiction over seven states - Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia - also have voided the tax."


Please skip the bias in the Sun and look at the underlying story. The Fed'l gov't installed a 3% tax on phone calls to fund the Spanish-American War. It was repealed for a while but it still applies to pay for wars ever since. It has been ruled not to apply to cell phones yet the IRS still sticks it to us.

[benburch]

1. Wow! It goes back that far???

It is easy to forget that there were already telephones at the time of the Spanish/American War.

[Joe for Clark]

2. I thought this kind of thing only went around in tax

accountant circles.

Yep, goes back to the Spanish-American war alright.

Guess the revenue service is trying to squeeze every single dime they can out of the last appropriation they got from congress.

You know, that new commissioner promised 10 to 1 returns from that last bill. He got $500,000,000 for that promise. Guess who is going to pay the piper.

Joe

[Pab Sungenis]

3. By those standards....

...shouldn't VOIP calls also be tax exempt?