WHOA communication taxes

[aleicgrant]

holy ****e, almost $24.00 a month in communication taxes.

YIKES. guess I should read my bill more closely.

[Xaa]

What are you talking about?

[aleicgrant]

Well my bill each month includes a communication tax. they tax you for movies, base package, dvr, etc etc etc and then add in state sales tax puts it at almost $25.00 a month just in taxes.

[dhines]

Well my bill each month includes a communication tax. they tax you for movies, base package, dvr, etc etc etc and then add in state sales tax puts it at almost $25.00 a month just in taxes.

my god, what state are you in?

[Mike728]

Very strange... :shrug:

[JLucPicard]

OP, are you talking about DirecTV or some cable outfit? I know it's in a DirecTV forum, but unless the cable lobby REALLY got to your state legislature, this just doesn't sound like a satellite thing.

[Greg Alsobrook]

not sure what a 'communications tax' is...

i'm in TN... my bill last month was $173 and only $14.04 in taxes...

Sales Tax 0.46
Tennessee Satellite Privilege Tax 13.58

[aleicgrant]

FL, which I now know has some of the highest taxes for this. Gee good thing we passed that big property tax break so I can put it towards my DTV tax :)

[schorner]

FL, which I now know has some of the highest taxes for this. Gee good thing we passed that big property tax break so I can put it towards my DTV tax :)

I live in FL and I only have $10.54 in taxes total.

[spartanstew]

I'm in Texas and the taxes on my last bill were $4.74

[bonscott87]

Ouch. My taxes in Michigan total 30 cents (sales tax on leased receiver fee).

[apexmi]

not sure what a 'communications tax' is...

i'm in TN... my bill last month was $173 and only $14.04 in taxes...

Sales Tax 0.46
Tennessee Satellite Privilege Tax 13.58

Satellite Privilege tax? Nice name choice for a tax

My monthly here in Michigan is 88.83 including the $0.90 in taxes

[venisenvy]

I had almost 24 dollars in taxes but that is only because I ordered the HD version of the Trinidad fight. On a regular month I pay 14.71 in taxes. 7.68 in sales tax and 7.03 in Gross Earnings Tax Reimbursement.

[bobshults]

I'm in Florida too. Communications tax runs 13.17%. That's really high. Taxes on my monthly bill of $64 run over $8 pushing my total bill to 72.40. Nothing I can do about it. Taxes and fees are just as high on cable.

[Greg Alsobrook]

Satellite Privilege tax? Nice name choice for a tax

My monthly here in Michigan is 88.83 including the $0.90 in taxes

hmm... that's what it says on my bill.... is that not normal?? i figured everyone paid that... but it looks like most of you are paying pennies... what gives??

[fwlogue]

A total of $5.80 for taxes here in Virginia. $1.55 in sales tax and $4.25 for Virginia Communication Services Tax

[JLucPicard]

AirRocker,

What I've been gleaning from the boards here is (alluding to my post # 6) is that in Tennessee (and my facts may certainly be fuzzy) someone felt it was lopsided that cable subscribers had all these local access fees, etc. that satellite subscribers weren't paying, so someone thought it a good idea to gouge satellite subscribers to close that apparent gap.

I'm a Minnesota resident, so don't know any of this for sure (and no, KenS, I do not have links to any pertinent websites :)), but that's what it seems the skuttlebutt is.

My latest bill totals $112, of which $6.07 is tax.

[cmoss5]

hmm... that's what it says on my bill.... is that not normal?? i figured everyone paid that... but it looks like most of you are paying pennies... what gives??

No taxes in Georgia...just taxed on the leasing fee...is 35 cents per receiver which is $1.05 for my 3 leased receivers....just like leasing a car here...

[Mike728]

My bill shows $0.00 in tax. What's the deal?

Current Charges & Fees 111.93
Adjustments & Credits -4.99
Taxes 0.00

[FireMedic8039]

FL, which I now know has some of the highest taxes for this. Gee good thing we passed that big property tax break so I can put it towards my DTV tax :)Im with ya on that one. Glad it passed. Especially living in the highest costing county in the state. We pay 53 cents a gallon for gas in taxes alone.

[bonscott87]

hmm... that's what it says on my bill.... is that not normal?? i figured everyone paid that... but it looks like most of you are paying pennies... what gives??

Every state is different. Michigan doesn't gougue you on your sat service like many other states.

[bonscott87]

My bill shows $0.00 in tax. What's the deal?

Current Charges & Fees 111.93
Adjustments & Credits -4.99
Taxes 0.00

Just means your state doesn't charge any taxes at all. That's a good thing. :)

[tcusta00]

My bill shows $0.00 in tax. What's the deal?

Current Charges & Fees 111.93
Adjustments & Credits -4.99
Taxes 0.00
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

My taxes in MD: 0.55 sales tax. Phew, the one thing they didn't get to yet! Although the wonderful new gov just pushed thru 20% sales tax increase.

[Ken S]

In Florida we pay 13% on Satellite and 0% state income tax. I'll take that trade off.

[Greg Alsobrook]

Every state is different. Michigan doesn't gougue you on your sat service like many other states.

I wonder who i can complain to... (not that it will matter)...

[tcusta00]

I wonder who i can complain to... (not that it will matter)...

:lol: Call your state legislator - they love to listen... to giant corporations, special interests and lobbyists.

[Greg Alsobrook]

the more i think about it... the more it really hacks me off... i'm paying over $150 a year for no reason at all...

an email to some lawmakers may be in order...

[cartrivision]

In California, on a DirecTV bill well in excess of $100, the total taxes are $1.23 sales tax on the lease fee charges. Why only the "lease fees" are taxable "sales" and the other charges on the bill are not seems odd, but I'm not complaining.

[dgordo]

No taxes in Illinois. Guess they figure all our other taxes are high enough.

[william8004]

holy ****e, almost $24.00 a month in communication taxes.

YIKES. guess I should read my bill more closely.

Maybe you can prorate it for rain fade.

[Ken S]

There's a couple reasons for those taxes. The first obviously being that our elected officials love to gather as much money as they can.

A lot of those taxes are brought about when cable companies who must pay taxes and fees because they use the "public right of way" argue that it puts them at a competitive disadvantage against satellite.

So faced with the choice of lowering taxes on cable or adding them to satellite...well...go back to my first point.

[bobnielsen]

In Florida we pay 13% on Satellite and 0% state income tax. I'll take that trade off.

In WA there is no income tax and only sales tax on the lease fee. They apply sales tax to labor, which I never saw in other areas I have lived.

[tcusta00]

They apply sales tax to labor, which I never saw in other areas I have lived.

Hey, Maryland just added that "feature" to our tax code this month :scratch:

[jdspencer]

In California, on a DirecTV bill well in excess of $100, the total taxes are $1.23 sales tax on the lease fee charges. Why only the "lease fees" are taxable "sales" and the other charges on the bill are not seems odd, but I'm not complaining.Each state may or may not charge sales tax on each line item. Here in NY its only the lease fee.

[Justin23]

Florida is one of 6 states that has a "Communications Tax". Basically the cable companies sponsored and pushed this bill through the Legislature to artifically inflate the cost of satellite. Both DIRECTV and Dish have filed lawsuits in the past few years to get this removed but to no avail. Cable has those Local and Federal Communications tax to offset the cost for using the governments existing infrastructure to carry their signals. Satellite does not have this problem because the signal comes from the air. It's complete BS in my opinion and hopefully the next round of lawsuits will be successful.

Justin

[Greg Alsobrook]

Florida is one of 6 states that has a "Communications Tax". Basically the cable companies sponsored and pushed this bill through the Legislature to artifically inflate the cost of satellite. Both DIRECTV and Dish have filed lawsuits in the past few years to get this removed but to no avail. Cable has those Local and Federal Communications tax to offset the cost for using the governments existing infrastructure to carry their signals. Satellite does not have this problem because the signal comes from the air. It's complete BS in my opinion and hopefully the next round of lawsuits will be successful.

Justin

any idea what the other 5 states are?? i wonder if my 'satellite privilege tax' is the same as a 'communications tax'...

[Justin23]

http://www.stopsatellitetax.com/

Six states have imposed discriminatory sales taxes on direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service, with no burden or a lesser burden placed on cable subscribers, and more states are threatening to do so. States with discriminatory DBS taxes are: Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Utah.

Just recently, an Ohio state court struck down its discriminatory law. Said the court, "Having been prevented by Congress from using its regulatory powers to reduce competition between the two industries, the State of Ohio is trying to accomplish the same thing through its taxing power." The DBS industry certainly hopes this trend will continue, but the costs of litigating these cases is enormous, and ultimately is reflected in the costs that consumers pay for their satellite services. That is why there is a need for Congressional intervention.

Cable falsely argues that DBS should be taxed because cable pays franchise fees.

DBS does not use local rights of way, and therefore should not pay a franchise fee, and cable gets tremendous value for use of their franchise (video, phone, and data revenue streams) while DBS subscribers get nothing in exchange for their discriminatory state sales tax.
Far from a free ride, DBS has paid handsomely over the years for its FCC licenses: over $1.2 billion, and over $1.2 million in annual fees.
Cable franchise fees are capped under federal law at 5% of gross revenues, but the DBS sales taxes often are much higher than that.

DBS consistently beats cable on price, quality, and service and is the strongest market deterrent against cable rate increases. That is why the cable industry lobbies states to impose discriminatory DBS taxes-- cable is trying to artificially inflate the cost of DBS.

Discriminatory DBS taxes harm all consumers by:

Protecting high and ever increasing cable rates by inflating competitors’ costs; and
Making satellite subscribers pay more for their TV service;
Discriminatory DBS taxes mean less revenue to state governments because cable escapes paying its fair share.

In a discriminatory regime, cable operators either do not owe any sales tax or credit against their state tax bills the franchise fees they pay to localities.
In a non-discriminatory regime, cable must pay its fair share of state taxes: whatever DBS subscribers pay, cable subscribers must pay the same.
Franchise fees –which cable operators pay for use of streets and other public rights of way-- are not the same as taxes, which generally apply to all citizens.
Cable-sponsored discriminatory taxes cloak the discrimination in complicated tax credits or subsidies back to cable operators for the franchise fees they pay.

[Greg Alsobrook]

very cool justin23... thanks for the link!!

i will read up on it later when i have more time...