Ever wonder why your cell phone bill always includes 4-5 lines of “fees and taxes” that inevitably add at least $10 to your bill? OpenCongress, the “Congress Gossip Blog,” has an interesting write up on how the taxes started and McCain’s bill to put a moratorium on new ones. While most blanket taxes are regressive, I do think the poor are particularly disadvantaged with cell phones taxes, as this is often their sole form of communication. For land lines you first need a permanent residnce and a deposit, which can be hard to come by for low-income families. Plus, if you’ve failed to pay your land line bill in the past, they’re not going to give you another one unless you pay the back debt and pay an additional hefty deposit. On the other hand, cell phones, and pre-paid cellphones in particular, don’t require a deposit or a permanent residence. They’re cheaper and easier to acquire.
Filed under: The more you know
This is exactly the type of problem that they are trying to address at http://www.myvalidas.com. The government is not the only one manipulating the charges and hurting people who use cell phones.