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California public utilities regulators are considering a plan to charge cell phone users in the state a fee for sending text messages, as another way of collecting taxes to help subsidize programs in the state.
If California’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) gets their way, California consumers could be paying approximately $45 million per year in newly levied taxes on text messages, according to a report by Mercury News. The proposed new law will be voted on in January 2019.
According to the PUC, taxing text messages would help pay for programs and funding services throughout the state, as well as, also make phone service less expensive for low-income residents.
But the state isn’t exactly hurting for money. According to a report by Mercury News, California is expected to have a budget surplus of nearly $15 billion next year.
At the heart of the matter, in the eyes of California’s Public Utilities Commission, is whether text messaging is a form of “telecommunications” or an “information service.” If text messages are considered to be telecommunications, which phone calls are categorized under, then the PUC has jurisdiction over them. Therefore, the PUC would be able to levy taxes on them just as they do on telephone calls.
Ask anyone who lives or has ever lived in California, and they’ll be quick to tell you that it is one of the most taxed states in the country. Lawmakers there seem to be on a never-ending quest for new sources of tax revenue to fund government programs in the state, and the new proposed tax on text messages is proof.
State income tax: California currently has the highest state income tax at 13.3%.
Gasoline tax: As of July 2018, California ranks #2 in the highest state taxes and fees on gasoline at 55.22 cents per gallon.
Sales tax: California ranks #10 on combined sales taxes as a state average, but ranks higher in certain cities. Oakland, California ranks #2 (under Seattle, WA) for the highest state and local sales tax at 9.5%. Los Angeles is #6 at 9.0%, Long Beach #7 at 9.0% and San Jose and San Francisco are tied for #10 at 8.75%.
