About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Scott Mackey, et al., Wireless Taxes and Fees in 2017 1 (2017)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/wiretx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Wireless Taxes and Fees in 2017 FISCAL FACT No. 567 Nov. 2017 Scott Mackey Managing Partner, Leonine Public Affairs LLP Joseph Bishop-Henchman Scott Drenkard Executive Vice President Director of State Projects The Tax Foundation is the nation's leading independent tax policy research organization. Since 1937, our research, analysis, and experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and local levels. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. @2017 Tax Foundation Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY NC 4.0 Editor, Rachel Shuster Designer, Dan Carvajal Tax Foundation 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 950 Washington, DC 20005 Key Findings * A typical American household with four wireless phones paying $100 per month for wireless voice service can expect to pay about $221 per year in wireless taxes, fees, and surcharges - down from $223 in in 2016. * Nationwide, taxes make up 18.5 percent of the average U.S. customer's wireless bill. Washington has the highest wireless tax rates in the country at 25.58 percent, followed closely by Nebraska at 25.10 percent, New York at 24.64 percent, Illinois at 24.59 percent, and Pennsylvania at 22.32 percent. * Since 2008, average wireless monthly bills have dropped from just under $50 per month to $41.50 per month - a 17 percent reduction - while wireless taxes have increased from 15.1 percent to 18.5 percent - a 22 percent increase. * Many states impose a much larger tax on wireless service than the sales tax imposed on the purchase of other goods and services. States with large disparities include Alaska (8.8 times), Nebraska (2.7 times), Pennsylvania (2.5 times), Maryland (2.2 times), South Dakota (2.2 times), Florida (2.2 times), New York (2.2 times), Rhode Island (2.2 times), and Illinois (2.1 times). * Connecticut, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia increased 911 fees in 2017. States are under pressure to fund upgrades to next generation 911 (NG911) programs. * In 2017, state Universal Service Fund (USF) rates increased in Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wisconsin. South Carolina expanded the scope of its USF surcharge to include wireless service. California and Wyoming lowered the rates of their state USF surcharges. * At the end of 2016, over 66 percent of all poor adults had only wireless service, and 51 percent of all adults were wireless only. Excessive taxes and fees, especially the regressive per line taxes like those imposed in Chicago and Baltimore, impose a disproportionate burden on low-income consumers. Chicago's per-line tax increases to $5 per month per line as of January 1, 2018. 202.464.6200 taxfoundation.org

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most