On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 1002, the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011. The bill would ban state and local governments from imposing qualifying new taxes on mobile services, mobile companies, and mobile service property for five years. Specifically, the bill would prevent the institution of any tax that is not generally imposed on, or that is generally imposed at a lower rate on, other types of services, providers, or property, unless the tax was imposed and actually enforced prior to the enactment of this act.
In addition, H.R. 1002 authorizes the Comptroller General to conduct a study, throughout the five-year moratorium imposed by this act, to determine how, and the extent to which, taxes on mobile services, providers, or property impact the costs consumers pay for mobile services and the extent to which the moratorium has any impact on the costs consumers pay for mobile services.
The Senate has yet to take any action on the companion measure (S 543).
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