House Panel Examines Cell Phone Taxation

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law examined legislation Thursday that would impose a five-year moratorium on any new discriminatory state or local taxes on mobile services, mobile service providers, and mobile service property. The bill was introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in April. The average wireless customer pays more than twice as much in taxes for their cell phone service (15.2 percent) as they do for other goods and services (7.1 percent), she noted. That tax burden is significant when one considers that more than 39 million American wireless subscribers earn less than $25,000 a year.