Baltimore Considering Higher Telecommunication Taxes on All Baltimore Cell Phones and Landlines
When Baltimore Family Budgets are Stretched to Their Limits, Why is the City Considering Higher Telecommunication Taxes on All Baltimore Cell Phones and Landlines?
Baltimore Wireless Consumers ‘Say No’ to increased taxes and fees!
Wireless allows you to stay connected with family and friends, to do business on the go, or to get help in emergencies. More than 600,000 residents in Baltimore benefit from a host of choices among features, phones and plans. So, why are Baltimore city leaders again considering piling another costly tax increase on your wireless and landline service?
Baltimore’s proposed city budget for 2011 would increase the already excessive tax on cell and landline phone consumers from $3.50 to $4.00 per line per month – a whopping 17% municipal tax hike on all Baltimore families and small businesses. The tax, which was just put into place in 2004, is expected to cost phone users an additional $3.75 Million in FY2011. If this increase is approved, taxes on a typical wireless family share plan could increase to over 27% of your bill!
More city taxes and fees on wireless would force even higher monthly costs on consumers, making the service less affordable and accessible for seniors, families, small businesses and students in this difficult economy. While it is true that Baltimore is in the midst of its worst fiscal crisis in modern history, and is considering cuts to public safety and other essential services, or raising property taxes, it is also true that Baltimore wireless customers are already paying among the highest taxes in the country. It is not fair to pile on new taxes when wireless consumers are already paying more than their fair share of city taxes.
Businesses are increasingly incorporating wireless services and applications into their business plans. Wireless applications increase business productivity and profitability by improving transportation and logistics, integrating sales forces with home offices, providing remote access to information, and in a host of other ways. This proposed tax will impose additional costs on businesses located in Baltimore, making Baltimore County and the suburbs a more attractive place to do business and hurting the city’s efforts to attract new businesses.
Wireless service needs to remain affordable and accessible to ALL.
In these challenging economic times for all of us, now is not the time to take advantage of our dependence and daily reliance on cell phones by considering slapping Baltimore consumers with a $4.00 per line tax, the highest local line-item wireless tax in the nation. That’s bad news for you, and for our struggling economy. Elected officials in Baltimore should be seeking to eliminate regressive taxes on all services to relieve consumers of excessive burdens, rather than expanding bad tax-and-spend policy to telecommunication service.
Now tell that to Mayor Rawlings-Blake, and to the Baltimore City Council. Make your voice heard today! Say ‘No’ to regressive new monthly telecommunication taxes on Baltimore wireless and landline consumers, proposed in the city budget.
Already sent a letter to the Mayor and to your City Councilmember? You can still do more. Call their office now and leave your message, or send a personal email. Their office details are provided below.
Contact Information:
Council President
Bernard C. “Jack” Young
410-396-4804
410-539-0647 fax
Room 400, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 1
James B. Kraft
410-396-4821
410-347-0547 fax
Room 503, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 2
Nicholas D’Adamo, Jr.
410-396-4808
410-396-4414 fax
Room 525, City Hall
Nicholas.D’[email protected]
District 3
Robert Curran
410-396-4812
410-396-8621 fax
Room 553, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 4
Bill Henry
410-396-4830
410-659-1792 fax
Room 502, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 5
Rochelle “Rikki” Spector
410-396-4819
410-396-6800 fax
Room 521, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 6
Sharon Green Middleton
410-396-4832
410-244-5343 fax
Room 516, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 7
Belinda Conaway
410-396-4810
410-347-0537 fax
Room 548, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 8
Helen Holton
410-396-4818
410-396-4828 fax
Room 518, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 9
Agnes Welch
410-396-4815
410-545-3857 fax
Room 532, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 10
Council Vice-President
Edward Reisinger
410-396-4822
410-545-7353 fax
Room 511, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 11
William H. Cole IV
410-396-4816
410-545-7464 fax
Room 527, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 12
Carl Stokes
410-396-4811
410-396-1594 fax
Room 509, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 13
Warren Branch
410-396-4829
410-347-0534 fax
Room 505, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
District 14
Mary Pat Clarke
410-396-4814
410-545-7585 fax
Room 550, City Hall
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)