TheHonorable John Conyers, Jr.
The Honorable Lamar Smith
United States House of Representatives
Committeeon the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington,DC 20515
DearChairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith:
On behalf ofthe 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to actswiftly and pass H.R. 1521, the Cell Tax Fairness Act, to ensure a floor votebefore Congress adjourns. The CellTax Fairness Act, introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), wouldprevent any state or local jurisdiction from imposing a new, discriminatory taxon wireless phone services for five years following the bill’s enactment. Thislegislation has received impressive, bipartisan support due to its sound tax-policyprinciples and pro-consumer goals.
Between 2003 and 2007, taxes on cell phone servicesincreased four times faster than those imposed on other general goods andservices. The average American wireless customer now pays more than 15 percentin combined government taxes, fees and surcharges each month. While familymembers are forced to shell out more money to communicate with one another,these predatory taxes are often squandered on projects that have little to dowith improving the communications network. To make matters worse, NTU researchhas shown that taxes heaped upon mobile service are among the worst of all the“hidden” levies not readily apparent to the people paying them.
H.R. 1521would help allow consumers to make choices based on the merits of technology,not the rate of taxation. This bill does not take away any existing revenue forstate or local governments, but simply calls for a period of stabilization thatwould protect cell phone customers from misguided tax policy. The legislationwould also help to further innovation and access in the digital marketplace.
The urgentneed for a five-year moratorium on new discriminatory cell phone taxes becomesmore apparent with each day that state and local governments continue to unfairlytarget these services. As the Committee deliberates upon this legislation, weask you to keep the best interest of taxpayers in mind. In this economy, everypossible element of relief to American families should be of the utmostpriority.
Thank youfor your attention to this matter, and we look forward to working with you asH.R. 1521, the Cell Tax Fairness Act, moves forward for consideration in theHouse Judiciary Committee.
Sincerely,
Jordan Forbes
Federal Government Affairs Manager