Los Angeles’s VoIP Tax
Source: www.voip-news.com
Almost two months ago, I filled y’all in on the new VoIP tax in Los Angeles. The gist is that LA lowered the telecommunications tax but extended what is taxed to include VoIP. In the April 2008 edition of the Heartland Institute’s Information Technology Update, they discuss the tax at length.
The thing is, as the report points out, last year Congress passed a measure that extended the protection from taxation of internet services. And it was voted in on Feb. 5, just a few weeks after city employees got pay raises . . . But one has nothing to do with the other, right?
Here’s a snippet:
Los Angeles city officials said public safety was the central issue behind Measure S.
“In the past, large cities have been able to rely on the state and federal government to assist in providing necessary funding for public safety. Today, however, the state of California and the federal government have allocated far less money to all cities and particularly to Los Angeles for public safety, education, and traffic relief, which is why Measure S is essential,” said William Bratton, the city’s police chief, in a guest editorial in the February 3 issue of the Los Angeles Daily News, urging voters to support the measure.
Read more here.
