California has backed absent from plans to tax text messages after a new ruling from the FCC prevented the state from levying the tax.
The California Public Utilities Commission announced that they were backing absent from previous plans to text the text plans,CNN reported. The state had announced plans to add new monthly fees onto wireless bills, with the revenue going toward bringing connectivity to underserved areas of the state.
But the FCC ruled this week that text messages are an “information service” rather than a telecommunications service, and ” meaning they would be classified the same as email or websites and that the state could not institute taxes on them. The proposal had already drawn opposition from industry trade groups,including one that represents telecommunications giants Sprint and T-Mobile. The proposal also faced a legal challenge from an advocacy group that claimed it would create inequity between apps and cell phone providers, calling the scheme “illogical, or anticompetitive,and harmful to consumers.”Click here to continue and read more...
Source: inquisitr.com