| Springfield, Missouri -- Southwest
Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt is co-sponsoring bipartisan
legislation to disconnect a 102 year-old tax that 99 million
American households pay every month--the 3% telephone excise
tax. "Levied to help fund the Spanish American War in 1898,
the telephone excise tax has outlasted two world wars, the Great
Depression, and the start of two new centuries," Blunt said.
"We won the war in 1898, but the federal government continues to
needlessly tax basic telephone services."
Congressman Blunt displays the phones in use in 1898
(on the right) when the 1% telephone excise was first enacted to
help pay for the Spanish-American War, and the cellular phones of
today (on the left). Today the tax is 3%. "Phones in the
1890's were considered a luxury; today they are a necessity for
millions of Americas, but the tax serves no specific purpose," Blunt
points out.
Blunt and the members of the House leadership have made a
commitment to bring the legislation to the House floor in the month
of May. The telephone tax has been reinstated,
increased, phased in and phased out about 20 times over the last
century.
"Here is the perfect example of how a ‘temporary' federal tax,
originally aimed at the rich, grows to impact everyone," Congressman
Blunt said. "Today, the federal ‘tax on talking' serves no
specific purpose, except as a cash cow for the federal
government." The 99-million telephone households in America
would benefit from the "The Phone Tax Repeal Act" (House Resolution
3916) that would end the $5 billion excise tax.
The telephone excise tax was first imposed in 1898 to help
finance the eight-month long Spanish American War effort. It was
designed as a luxury tax on the rich who were the predominate
telephone users of the day. "At the current level of $5 billion
annually, the Spanish American war would be the most expensive in
the country's history," said the Congressman.
Blunt challenged his fellow members in Congress, "We can give
consumers a break without harming the funding of any federal program
or institution. The U.S. budget is in surplus, and we are at
peace. Today, telephones are no longer a luxury but an essential
service for all Americans. The justification just isn't there."
"The Phone Tax Repeal Act" would give tax relief where it is
needed most–to low and fixed income households, seniors, and college
students where phone service is essential for safety, health and
maintaining employment. The move would also cut another
impediment to development of the Internet and other
telecommunications services which are at the heart of the current
information technology and communications
revolution. |
