Anyone old enough to remember the sin taxes? Well, seems California has proposed to take it to a whole new level to aid the poor… use cell phones… didn’t the Federal government do that with the Obama-phones?
Anyone remember taxation without representation? Oh, just an archaic notion anymore.
SACRAMENTO, CA (NBC NEWS) — California residents may soon have to pay a tax on texting.
According to KNTV, the public utilities commission is floating the idea to help fund programs that give low-income residents access to cell phones.
It’s not clear how much the texting tax would be or how it would be collected.
Several business groups have come out against the proposal.
One business group says the program is flush with cash.
But state regulators say the program is breaking the bank after the budget for the program has been raised 300 million dollars in six years.
The wireless industry says the texting tax would put them at a disadvantage over other free messaging services like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Apple’s i-Message and others.
Mobile phone companies along with telecom providers are working to defeat this ridiculous proposal. There is no formal amount of the tax that has been announced, but frankly the poor in California actually need places to live and employment rather than cell phones. There is some chatter that just a flat fee added to the mobile service or a surcharge would be proposed versus some tax per text.
The Bay Area and the California Chamber of Commerce are looking to create a fund estimated to be in the $40-50 million range per year. Oh, wait… there is also some consideration to making these taxes retroactive going back 5 years. If that is the case, that fund would amount to well over $200 million.
Read the full story from NoisyRoom.net
Want more BFT? Leave us a voicemail on our page or follow us on Twitter @BFT_Podcast and Facebook @BluntForceTruthPodcast. We want to hear from you! There’s no better place to get the #BluntForceTruth.
