Cable companies seeking a new tax on satellite TV

In the long-running battle between cable television and satellite, the cable TV industry is quietly trying to persuade the California state legislature to levy a tax on its competitors. With just six days left in the legislative session, cable advocates in Sacramento want lawmakers to slap a new 5% tax on satellite service to match the 5% franchise fee that cable companies pay to string or bury their wires across public property and into homes. Cable companies argue that it's matter of fairness. They say it is not right for them to pay a fee, while fast-growing satellite providers -- DirecTV and Dish Network -- don't have to pay anything for the right to beam their signals into people's homes from space. Satellite companies disagree, saying such a tax discriminates against their 3.6 million customers in California, especially rural residents living in remote areas not served by cable. Satellite providers shouldn't be penalized with a tax because they use innovative technology and don't have to dig up the streets or people's backyards, DirecTV says. Discussion of the proposed satellite TV tax has been mostly hush-hush in Sacramento, with no bill actually being written and no committee hearings held.