The $240-a-Year Bill You Don’t Know You’re Paying

The $240-a-Year Bill You Don’t Know You’re Paying

September 7, 2011

Telephone Service

The only federal telephone tax is a 3 percent charge on local telephone service, expected to raise $751 million this year for the general federal budget.The Federal Communications Commission imposes a fee on telephone companies -- currently 14.4 percent of residential and business customer revenues -- for the Universal Service Fund that subsidizes phone service for low-income and rural Americans, as well as schools and libraries. A Telecommunications Relay Charge helps pay for the center that transmits and translates calls for the hearing- and speech-impaired.
The only federal telephone tax is a 3 percent charge on local telephone service, expected to raise $751 million this year for the general federal budget.The Federal Communications Commission imposes a fee on telephone companies -- currently 14.4 percent oprevnext

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<p>Legal reform by taxation? Tennessee attempts to discourage frivolous lawsuits by imposing a tax on all litigation. The amount varies case-by-case and can be as little as $1. New York State also taxes litigation, though it imposes a flat fee of $25.</

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