PHONE TAXES ARE CELL HELL 'INSANE' GOV'T GRAB IN NY "It's A Good Time To Move If You Live In Crappy _ New York State !"Cellphone customers gripe that there's no justification for some of the fees, such as the state's $1.20-per-line, per-month 911 charge. Responding to complaints that only a tiny amount of the tax went to 911 service, the Legislature voted this month to call it a "public-service fee" instead.
Eleven federal, state and city levies add as much as 33 percent to the cost of New Yorkers' cellphones, a Post analysis found.
A typical cell plan costing $49.99 a month comes with a total tax bill of $10.59 -- a 21.18 percent tax rate that helps give New York the fourth-highest cellphone taxes of any state.
And cheaper plans favored by the frugal and poor are taxed at higher rates.
Someone with a $29.99 T-Mobile Basic plan with 300 minutes pays $6.95 in taxes monthly, a rate of 23.18 percent, 2 percentage points above the typical city bill.
People trying to save money with multiline family plans are hit harder.
Federal, state and local taxes on a two-line Sprint plan costing $69.99 a month add up to $15.73, a rate of 24.25 percent, 3 points above the typical bill.
Sprint offers additional lines for $9.99 each. Add $2.89 in state and city taxes and 42 cents in federal taxes, and each extra $9.99 line carries a tax bill of $3.32 -- a 33.20 percent rate, 12 percentage points above the typical bill.
"The taxes are insane!" cried Jessica Porter, 36, a gallery worker from the East Village with a similar three-line family plan.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04132009/news/regionalnews/phone_taxes_are_cell_hell_164180.htm
