Press
Pennsylvania Consumers Fight for Repeal of Double Tax on Wireless
Senate Expected to Vote on Tax Repeal Next Week
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pennsylvania wireless consumers, fed up with paying double taxes on their monthly cell phone bills, are urging their state Senators and Governor Rendell to support legislation (SB 691) that would repeal the state’s 5% Gross Receipts Tax (GRT). Thousands of consumers have contacted their elected officials – via email, direct mail and phone calls – asking for tax relief on their monthly wireless bills. The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to vote on SB 691 the week of April 3. Leading wireless consumers on this effort is consumer advocacy organization MyWireless.org.
“The Pennsylvania House of Representatives heard loud and clear from wireless consumers looking to end this unfair, double tax on wireless. As a result, they voted to repeal the state Gross Receipts Tax. Now it’s time for the Senate and Governor Rendell to stand up for the millions of Pennsylvania consumers who benefit from wireless every day. There is great momentum in the State Senate to repeal this excessive tax, and we hope Governor Rendell will sign this legislation as soon as it hits his desk,” said Kimberly Kuo, Executive Director of MyWireless.org.
Pennsylvania ranks 8th in the nation for high wireless taxes, with the aggregate level of taxes, fees and government mandates on residents' wireless bills nearing 20%. That includes the 5% state GRT that state policymakers added to the 6% state sales tax, plus other federal and local taxes and fees.
That level of unfair and excessive taxation could make wireless service unaffordable and inaccessible to many Pennsylvanians, especially those on fixed budgets, such as seniors, working families and small businesses, who often rely on their cell phones the most. And, according to a recent study, nearly 2,400 jobs were lost in Pennsylvania as a result of the GRT. Not only do consumers pay for this double tax, but so do the working people of Pennsylvania.
In spring 2005, MyWireless.org launched a statewide effort to empower Pennsylvania’s 7 million wireless consumers to actively support the repeal of the state Gross Receipts Tax on wireless service. MyWireless.org together with its coalition partners, including the Pennsylvania Black Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council and USA Next, continue to provide information to cell phone users about how they are being overly and unfairly taxed, and tools to empower them to make their voices heard.
Cell phone users in Pennsylvania and nationwide are encouraged to visit www.MyWireless.org – a dynamic, interactive Web site that allows wireless users to learn more about wireless issues like Pennsylvania’s Gross Receipts Tax on wireless services and other state and national issues, to voice their support or opposition to proposed wireless taxes and regulations by directly contacting policymakers, to read about the latest wireless developments, and to help promote the innovation, affordability, and accessibility of wireless services.
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MyWireless.org is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to giving wireless consumers a clear and powerful voice to protect the freedom, value, security and mobility they enjoy with wireless services.
www.MyWireless.org