Chat Tax!

Filed in archive Legal on June 18, 2008

© MACSURAK

The city council in Sacramento, California is asking voters to vote on paying taxes for text messaging plus other future technologies in exchange for lowering some utility taxes.

I read this headline and just about jumped out of my skin. When have you ever heard of the government getting rid of a tax? Do you really think they would? Maybe if the new tax was going to bring in more revenue. And that is just what it is! Decreasing revenues from old technologies is forcing the council to search for new revenue.

Timothy Bittle, director of leagal affairs for the taxpayers group said it best: "They're packaging it as a tax reduction and it's not. It's an increase,". "They're not only trying to hoodwink voters to ratify a tax on cell phones, but they're adding insult to injury by extending it to all current and future technologies."