Tax fact of the day

Have you ever noticed you pay three percent federal excise tax on your phone bill?

Some say it’s absurd. According to seven federal courts, it’s also illegal. But one thing is for sure: America’s excise tax on phone service has soaked consumers for more than a century.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., recently introduced legislation in the House – supported by 98 co-sponsors – aimed at repealing the tax, which was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War. The war was over in six months, but the tax stayed.

The general excise tax has so far cost consumers about $300 billion, says the Congressional Research Service. The entire Spanish-American War cost only about $6 billion, adjusted for inflation.

Here is the link.

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