The following article appears in today’s NY Post:
Eleven federal, state and city levies add as much as 33 percent to the cost of New Yorkers’ cellphones, a Post analysis found.
A typical cell plan costing $49.99 a month comes with a total tax bill of $10.59 — a 21.18 percent tax rate that helps give New York the fourth-highest cellphone taxes of any state.
And cheaper plans favored by the frugal and poor are taxed at higher rates.
Someone with a $29.99 T-Mobile Basic plan with 300 minutes pays $6.95 in taxes monthly, a rate of 23.18 percent, 2 percentage points above the typical city bill.
People trying to save money with multiline family plans are hit harder.
Federal, state and local taxes on a two-line Sprint plan costing $69.99 a month add up to $15.73, a rate of 24.25 percent, 3 points above the typical bill.
Sprint offers additional lines for $9.99 each. Add $2.89 in state and city taxes and 42 cents in federal taxes, and each extra $9.99 line carries a tax bill of $3.32 — a 33.20 percent rate, 12 percentage points above the typical bill.
“The taxes are insane!” cried Jessica Porter, 36, a gallery worker from the East Village with a similar three-line family plan.
Cellphone customers gripe that there’s no justification for some of the fees, such as the state’s $1.20-per-line, per-month 911 charge. Responding to complaints that only a tiny amount of the tax went to 911 service, the Legislature voted this month to call it a “public-service fee” instead.
New Yorkers’ cellphone levies include a 4 percent state sales tax, a 4.125 percent city sales tax, and three MTA taxes that add up to 0.98 percent.
Most people never read the phone-bill fine print — they just pay up.
That’s exactly how elected officials like it, said Scott Mackey, an economist who tracks taxes for several cellphone companies and aided The Post’s analysis.
“There’s a tendency to feel no one is going to notice this little tax,” Mackey said. “They can do this without a lot of pushback from their constituents.”
5 Responses
Until everyone is ready to make aliyah, how about we relocate the entire frum community from NY to another state that does NOT have all these insane taxes!!! And, while were moving, – someplace with better weather would be nice too! (in NY 8-9 months of the year are uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold). Does anyone know of
a place that fits the bill? Southern California has great weather most of the year but they have crazy cost of living too. Maybe Arizona?
I do a pay per month plan because I want Verizon and my husband wants Sprint. It comes out much cheaper. Wait until I scan my husband’s monthly bill. I want to see all of those service charges!
#1: Since the Mabbul, when Hashem tilted the earth’s rotational axis from perpendicular to the ecliptic plane to 23.5 degrees from the plane, there is no place on the planet that is perfect in terms of weather.
For example, Southern California might soon drop into the Pacific, and Arizona is nice and hot, around 120F or so in the summer (it’s a dry heat, as they say).
i like ur point…when are we all going to be ready to make aliya? i hope it will be soon out of love and understanding rather than c”v ‘other reasons’…
I vote for San Diego, CA. I don’t know about the cost of living there but weather like that is worth paying more for.