San Francisco (CNN Business) California regulators no longer plan to tax text messages.
The California Public Utilities Commission said a new FCC ruling prevented the state from levying a tax on text plans. The state hoped to add new monthly fees onto wireless customers' bills to increase funds for programs that bring connectivity to underserved residents. Regulators were scheduled to vote on the measure on January 10, 2019.
The FCC put the text tax's future in doubt when it issued a new rule on December 12 determining text messages constitute an "information service" — not a "telecommunications service." CPUC commissioner Carla Peterman withdrew the text tax propsal "in light of the FCC's action."
Here is an update to the #texting surcharge proposal before @californiapuc. pic.twitter.com/6QziYqQKXY — California PUC (@californiapuc) December 15, 2018
Proponents of the FCC's new rule say it will give carriers the ability to crack down on spam messages, and critics say it could lead to carriers censoring messages. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
The CPUC's proposed text tax faced strong opposition from industry trade groups, including CTIA, which represents AT&T Mobility, Sprint, and T-Mobile. (AT&T is the parent company of CNN.)
demagogueffxiv on December 17th, 2018 at 00:15 UTC »
This is the dumbest idea I've ever read in history and I live in Chicago ffs.
killarneykid on December 16th, 2018 at 23:28 UTC »
Whoever thought of it should be kicked out of office.
T0yN0k on December 16th, 2018 at 19:51 UTC »
If this had pass, this would have been more egregious than Chicago's Playstation Tax:
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/chicago-slaps-playstation-users-with-expansion-of-9-percent-amusement-tax/