Posted on 11/02/2007 5:22:55 PM PDT by SERKIT
I am in a discussion with Sprint and the Illinois Commerce Commission on the taxes that appear on my bill for my Sprint Pentech PX-500 broadband card for my laptop. I am paying $0.57 for Federal 9-1-1 taxes and $0.75 for local 9-1-1 tax. This isn't a bank-breaker, but it's the principle.
The card cannot "dial" 9-1-1 and it lacks GPS chipset for Phase 2 wireless E9-1-1 location requirements. Because of this, I contend that I should not be paying taxes for a device that CANNOT use the services for which I'm being taxed. It would be the rough analog of paying 9-1-1 taxes for a WiFi card.
Has anyone else tried to make this argument? Am I shoveling feces against the tide?
Why are you complaining about the service providers? They’re only following the dictates of our Washington D.C. overlords. Call your congress-critter or your Senator.
Yes.
Your mindful concern totes more weight by your vote at election time.
It is a phone line. You could make a VoiP call with it.
As I could on WiFi, so what’s the difference?
Your wifi has the tax too
You’re lucky...LA City charged 10%
How do I pay 9-1-1 tax per device on WiFi?
If I still have to pay about $6 amonth on my phone bill for the war of 1812 you can pay a few pennys for 9/11.
Are you stealing wifi?
WiFi is in my house (free of 9-1-1 taxes) and free in many hotels (free of 9-1-1 taxes) and at Starbucks (free of 9-1-1 taxes). I’m not sure you understand the issue.
The tax isn't for September 11, it's for 911 emergency service. Like his laptop card is going to call the fire department.
I agree.
I’m on your side as the taxes on this stuff is outrageous. However, it is proabably because you are going over a cell tower to get to the broadband network.
As mentioned, I tether my cell to my laptop when WiFi is not available. Supposed to pay extra for this with Sprint but for some reason they haven’t charged me yet.
I didn’t think I nedded a sarc tag for that.
I don't understand the $6 monthly fee for the War of 1812. Why's that?
Ah, sarcasm. It works well...sometimes.
I think it’s justified in the government’s mind because the card utilizes the cell network, repeater facilities, etc., which are used when a cell device places a 911 call. Doesn’t necessarily justify the tax to me.
Meant to add that cell phone without raw gps capability probably also pay the tax. I use Tracfone, so I don’t see a breakdown.
No.
Looks like Sprint’s MBA’s are just attempting to make money on a “mistake”. The taxes apply to the line connection, not any hardware.
See, Sprint will pay the tax on how many line connecitons they have. Since they’re collecting more than is required to cover the tax bill for those, they get to keep the excess.
I pay more in taxes on my long distance that what the total is for all my calls! Not joking on that.
That’s sad.
No, what?
I have the Verizon Broadband service. It most assuredly has its own phone number, as that is how it accesses the network.
I’ve come to the conclusion there’s a dirty little secret and that is a lot of the taxes you see on phone/internet bills are not always forwarded to the tax man. It’s a little moneymaker on the side for these companies.
I expect, if you want to devote a good portion of your time and life to this for the next five years, you might be able to make a difference.
So far you’ve probably only talked to the lower eschelon folks and will need to go way farther up the ladder to get satisfaction.
One of these days there will be a huge class action lawsuit against all these companies and once the dust settles, all of us who have been being scammed will be reimbursed a few pennies.
That's a sarcastic reference to the long distance telephone tax that was imposed to pay for the Spanish American War in 1898. The tax outlasted the war by more than a century and was finally repealed in 2006.
I was under the impression that the tax was on the hardware(the card), not the service.
I use a Zone 2 Park and Ride and I cannot see how the transit authority can make money on us. I ride from Moon to Downtown and pay $75/month for unlimited service. The drivers are making 50k per year. They run at least 3 buses on that route. Assuming 200 riders (a reasonable estimate), that's $15,000 per month in revenue. There is no way they can run those routes at a profit. Driver costs alone would be somewhere around 12,500/month. Add benefits, fuel, maintenance, capital costs, etc., etc., etc., and you are guaranteed to be running in the red.
I don't drink in Allegheny County so you all are welcome to subsidize we suburb commuters who can afford twice what they are charging now and still save money over what it would cost to drive and park downtown. I, for one, want you to know appreciate it.
My Verizon bill comes as two phone lines...that is all I know. In fact, you cant share features between them....I thought maybe I could get free internet on my phone since I had a data plan...but no dice. They do give you a discount for already being a Vzn customer.
Your Sprint air card is the equivalent of a handset - you’re just not using it for voice. It has a cell phone number - that’s what allows it to connect to the Sprint network. The taxing rules don’t differentiate between devices that are used for voice and those that are not - if it has a Mobile Directory Number and/or a Mobile Identification Number - it is taxed.
You could not be more wrong. The last thing a cell company wants to do is screw with a taxing entity. Those taxes are meticulously accounted for; and collected and paid according to the laws on the books.
Yes, I know the connections are taxed. That’s done on a monthly basis. I thought the poster meant the modem itself was taxed in addition. The poster will have to clear that up. The modem itself can be bought anywhere and the tax should not be applied to the hardware.
The tax applies to the connection, not the hardware.
"if it has a Mobile Directory Number and/or a Mobile Identification Number - it is taxed."
It's a modem that does contain a unique ID number, but as hardware, it should not be taxed. Only the connection is taxed. The connection is where the directory phone # comes from. The device just gets programed when the contract for service is done. Then the tax applies to the connection for each month of service.
I would be more pissed off about living in Illinois.
As far as the tax law goes, the air card is a phone, and gets taxed. Don’t like it? Whine to the government, not the phone company. They’re just practicing gluteus protectus.
Note in the original post that I am griping (not whining) to the Illinois Commerce Commission that sets rates and imposes the tax.
Phones are also hardware, and the tax don't apply to them either.
You’ll waste 100 times the value of the rip-off and never get a resolution. Sprint and all the companies are a joke.
Only solution is to cheat on your taxes to get your money back.
I’m getting ripped off since I moved across state lines.
I now get billed for CT and FL taxes and 911 stuff.
Sprint is taking the 9-1-1 related taxes off my bill fpr the air-card and issuing me a $50 rebate for the wait and inconvenience. Go figure!
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