[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 1898: THE TELEPHONE EXCISE TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2005

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, in 1898, the United 
States engaged in a brief military conflict with Spain. To pay for the 
three month skirmish, lawmakers enacted a luxury tax that would only 
tap money from the super wealthy. Today, that same luxury tax lives on, 
but instead of taxing only the rich, it hits the pocket books of almost 
all Americans, both rich and poor. The tax is the federal phone tax. A 
pesky three percent surcharge on all phone calls made in the United 
States. Today I am introducing a bill to ensure its days, like those of 
the Spanish empire before the 1898 war, are numbered.
  H.R. 1898, the ``Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2005,'' will 
repeal the antiquated tax on telecommunication services.
  While a ``luxury'' tax on telecommunication services might have made 
sense in 1898, there is no question that telecommunications services 
today are necessities, not luxuries.
  Today, Americans depend daily on land line telephones, cell phones 
and dial-up internet services to communicate. However, we continue to 
take money from Americans by classifying these services as a 
``luxury.'' Today, more than 100 million American households are paying 
for a tax on their telecommunications services.
  The tax is not only applied to local services, but on specialty 
features including call waiting, caller ID, local toll charges, long-
distance calls, wireless services and directory assistance. This tax 
burdens our communication abilities and is destructive to technological 
innovation. It must be repealed immediately.
  Telephone tax revenues once used to pay for the Spanish-American War 
are deposited in the General Fund. Unlike the gas tax, which directs 
revenues to the Highway Trust Fund, no specific account exists to 
redirect money collected from the telephone ``luxury'' tax. Other items 
subject to a ``luxury'' tax include airplane tickets, beer and liquor, 
firearms and cigarettes. Obviously, a telephone is a necessity, and 
thus does not fit with this list of ``luxury'' items.
  It is time to hang up on the telephone tax. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this important legislation to permanently repeal 
the federal telephone excise tax.

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