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Senators Propose 5 Year Ban on Higher Cell Phone Taxes
arstechnica.com — What can Republicans and Democrats agree on these days? The fact that wireless taxes are too high, for one thing. Two senators have introduced the "Mobile Wireless Tax Fairness Act" to put a stop to further increase; 15.9 percent is high enough, they claim.
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- Masternajee, on 07/11/2008, -3/+12Does that mean they are banning all new government fees with that also?
It is amazing that the tax rate is 6% yet my bill is over $80 on a $69.99 plan.- playuhh, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Don't trip chocolate chip! No new taxes! Right!?
- RoccoNut16v, on 07/11/2008, -2/+3Insisting the government place a moratorium on tax increases? Who do you think you are? How dare you stand in the way of progress!
- jasezero, on 07/11/2008, -3/+10How's about t hey lower the damn tax rate to a normal level....say like 7% instead of just leaving it at a ridiculous 15.9%?
- HairyFotr, on 07/11/2008, -3/+4Read my lips: no new taxes.
- redwallhp, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2And kill the income tax.
- jeb4, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5On a somewhat related note, does anybody else feel like they sign a bit of their sole away every time you extend your contract just to get a sweet phone for less?
- celotil, on 07/12/2008, -1/+9You walk into the store and ask to buy the phone you want, outright with no contract.
If they can't do that, you walk out. Don't make a pithy comment, or attempt to be witty, just walk out.
If you make it to the door before someone asks you to hold on, they'll "see what can be worked out", they don't want your business, and you shouldn't want to be their customer. They don't even respect the fact that you were about to pay them anywhere upwards of $300 dollars, or double if in AU, so ***** them. They're certainly not about to respect you.
It's "soul" by the way. A sole is something you walk on.- Giga, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0They can sell you the iPhone 3G in NZ outright with no contract. Problem is, you can't actually use it without a contract or doing some hack to unlock it. Your proposed solution would just screw people over even more in that case.
- celotil, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2(Replying to myself to respond to Giga because that Thread link never seems to work for me.)
@Giga,
I know, I wrote about Optus in Australia ***** us in the arse with the same ***** - pay $850 for the 16GB iPhone, and $80 to unlock.
The plain facts are, you can bend over and take it, or just go without. If you already have a phone, is it so worn out that you can't just keep using it?
I want an iPhone. It looks like a neat toy despite its shortcomings, but I don't feel like getting ***** over by any company wishing to overcharge me on it's price, then continue to overcharge me for calls and data use, so I'm going without.
If everyone who bitched about getting screwed decided to just go without, maybe companies would stop screwing us and adapt, or go broke.
Apple's biggest mistake this time around has been not selling the iPhone directly through their online store or existing retailers. I was willing to snap one up yesterday and slip in my current SIM card, putting aside my current phone to bring to work only. Apple didn't do that, so I'm not getting one.
Can anyone here honestly answer why they bought anything that they KNEW they were going to dislike? If you didn't like some aspect of it, why the hell did you buy it? To be hip, or cool? Is it that necessary that you be in constant contact with a phone 24x7?
As I've said before, there are three necessities to life - food, clothing, and shelter - and two of those things are purely dependant upon where you live - don't see many Amazonian tribes worrying about double-glazing and the latest fashions.
Everything else is a luxury. Treat luxuries like needs and you become a slave to your desires, the perfect target market for advertising. Treat needs like luxuries and you can face nearly anything without fear, and laugh it off when someone tells you that the next overpriced bit of shiny is "just what you need".
- lamiaconfitor, on 07/12/2008, -1/+1You do. Its not an illusion, but you want that new, flashy phone, right? of course you do, the one you have in your pocket has broken due to planned obsolescence.
- celotil, on 07/12/2008, -1/+9You walk into the store and ask to buy the phone you want, outright with no contract.
- kuwan, on 07/12/2008, -3/+15Why don't they force the phone companies to charge text messages at the price that they actually cost: $0.00? Text messaging has got to be the biggest rip off ever perpetrated on a world-wide scale. The fact that per-message rates actually go up across multiple carriers ought to be evidence enough of collusion among the phone companies to keep rates high. If only I were a lawyer, I think there's a lawsuit there somewhere.
- sporg, on 07/12/2008, -0/+3I do not how much it actually costs the phone company when you make a cell call though I have been told that it is insignificant and that it would take hours of constant use before it actually added up to anything. Their main concern is the system getting maxed out and unable to accept more calls which really pisses customers off.
I know for a fact that use of a land line costs the phone company $0 the infrastructure was all paid for decades ago in most areas and they are heavily subsidized by the government to begin with.
I once called to have my land line disconnected and they stopped charging me but for some reason they failed to turn the service off. Once I discovered it was still working I called the phone company from that line and told them about it. Unbelievably the person I spoke with assured me that it was off even after I told them I was calling him from that line. I continued to use the service to make calls until someone recognized the screw up which took over a year, that's right over a year of completely free phone service. I think if the calls were actually costing them anything they might have noticed. - lamiaconfitor, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2well, its more like .000187 cents, but point taken.
- twomeyw23334, on 07/12/2008, -1/+1then get a plan with unlimited texting,
it's a sad state when "lawyers" are the first thing that pop up into our minds. I feel so sad when people complain about what features their cellphone or cable service doesn't provide for them. I just want to break out a violin and cry while I play a very dramatic tune and chanting "Capitalism sucks!"
I wish I had the power to zap people back into time or just to a different part of the world when I hear ***** like this so they'd be forced to grow a pair and realize how good they actually have it. - Scheissen, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1If you don't like the prices then get a contract without text messaging.
- sporg, on 07/12/2008, -0/+3I do not how much it actually costs the phone company when you make a cell call though I have been told that it is insignificant and that it would take hours of constant use before it actually added up to anything. Their main concern is the system getting maxed out and unable to accept more calls which really pisses customers off.
- danjal, on 07/12/2008, -3/+4They are only puting this into effect because it effects themselves.
- timberfish, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1315% is too high. Try lowering it and then you'll impress me. Pointing at an absurd situation and calling it so doesn't mean you get a gold star. It means you're out of touch.
- playuhh, on 07/12/2008, -5/+3It must be election season... start yer engines and get them votes!
How bout a 5 year reduce our ***** dependence on ***** foreign oil plan?
I'm just sayin this for *****'s sake...- playuhh, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1
- playuhh, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2you have to be some kind of loser to reply to your own reply.
- playuhh, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1
- COlson87, on 07/12/2008, -2/+10All taxes are too high.
- wonderchemist, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1I'd say there too low, since the government deficit spends.
Want accountability in government? Simply make the tax rate automatically adjust monthly to government expenditures. Which means every vote to spend your tax money effects your tax rate. Congress won't be in such a rush to spend money then.- COlson87, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1Well that's the whole reason we have The Federal Reserve.
Governments use inflation to run deficits and spend more than they have. With a gold/silver (or commodity backed currency) governments can't overspend because their subjects (citizens) would need to pay with real money.
It sets a very definite budget in place.
- COlson87, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1Well that's the whole reason we have The Federal Reserve.
- wonderchemist, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1I'd say there too low, since the government deficit spends.
- sporg, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2I propose that we stop paying any taxes to the federal government and see how they like that. Oh wait they will just print more money to spend like they are doing anyway nevermind.
- newnetmp3, on 07/12/2008, -1/+101. Legalize spying on calls,
2. Make sure you can afford to be spied on.
3. ...
4. Profit!! - Dustin00, on 07/12/2008, -1/+3You'd think it was an election year.
- jesushchrist00, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2can anyone tell me why there is a tax on this in the first place? I mean, christ, I'm Christ and I can't even give you the answer on this one. it's just an excuse to take more of your money.
has everyone see the numbers that for every $1 the federal government takes, they produce $.30 worth of value? that's a lot of waste, and they just take more and more. - Kas70, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Lower the rate to be more in line with other services and then ban unreasonable increases - that would worth noticing.
And texting should just be included in your regular plan - like you pay for internet access and send emails for free... - felipe41194, on 07/12/2008, -1/+1"we'd better get jacking!"
um ok.... - mmilton, on 07/12/2008, -2/+1The government should drop the tax issue and figure out how to get more competition in wireless phone market. If we had more providers, you would start to see lower priced phones AND no contracts.
Yes, the government should figure out how to break up the larger carriers or how to get new ones to join the mix. They probably won't. Perhaps Google will enter the space and save the day. - theNazz, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2It's about time that somebody put the taxman in check...
- Ratteler, on 07/13/2008, -1/+1Of course!!! If cell phones get too expensive, people won't buy them. Then how will we wire tap them?
- bipolarruledout, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2You know I don't like it either but a cell phone is not a right. If we are going to have taxes then it's a great example of something that should be taxed. Now getting rid of all the fees that are designed to look like taxes would be a start.
- toddsinclair, on 07/18/2008, -0/+0I have a better Idea ... Ban ANY local, state and federal taxes on all energy (gas,oil,coal,wind,nuclear,solar,)
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