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an effort to create searchable online databases for government expenditures
a tool to highlight the hypocrisy of tax hikers
Constitutional or statutory requirement to rein in growth of revenues end expenditures
a commitment made by elected officials and candidates for elected office never to raise taxes
Raising the bar for tax increases
Requiring a cool-off period for all bills with a fiscal impact
pork-barrel spending - the broken windows of the budget
Tax Bites - Phone (Wireless)
46.40%
In today’s high-tech world, consumers have a wide range of choices for their voice services. Where there used to only be a landline phone, there are now cell phones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, and cable digital voice services. Recently the Beacon Hill Institute of Massachusetts surveyed 59 US cities and came up with average taxes paid for a wide variety of telecommunications services.
According to their study, consumers pay 11.78 percent of their average monthly wireless bill to the government. With monthly bills estimated at $49.98, you pay $5.89 for a wireless.
These numbers take into account phone-specific taxes like the federal Universal Service Fund, the 911 tax, the city telecom taxes, TDD (deaf tax), and state universal service.
However, what the Beacon Hill study does not take into account are costs for federal income taxes, state income taxes, federal payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workmen’s compensation taxes, local property taxes and any local income taxes. Altogether, these taxes dial up the actual “bite” to $23.19 for a wireless phone.
When added to the taxes and fees paid directly by the consumer, a total of 46.4 percent of a wireless bill actually pays for government taxes and fees.
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