TRAC commends Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine and the Virginia General Assembly for passing the nation's first communications flat tax bill. The bill, which replaces four existing communications taxes with a flat 5% tax regardless of technology will help Virginia consumers to compare more easily the services and plans that are right for them, said TRAC research associate John Breyault. ?In an era where different devices and technologies increasingly perform the same functions, there is a need for consumers to have a single tax regime to calculate the true costs of these services,? said Breyault. ?We applaud Virginia for recognizing this need and acting to help reduce the confusion that many telecommunications consumers face.?

As a next step, TRAC calls on state regulators to require that discretionary carrier fees such as property tax surcharges, regulatory fees, and carrier cost recovery fees be rolled in to the monthly service fee. Doing so would make consumers? comparison shopping even easier.

Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center.  trac.org