Congress Introduces New Bill Barring Cellular Phone Taxes

On March 16, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) reintroduced legislation (H.R. 1521) that imposes a five year moratorium on enacting new cellular taxes and fees on cell phone consumers. It is expected that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will introduce a similar bill in the Senate in the next few weeks.Cellular phone services are subject to 15.2 percent in federal, state and local taxes, while the tax rate for most other taxable goods and services is 7.1 percent. NAR's Business Issues Committe will discuss the legislation and determine next steps.