TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Withholding the Telephone Tax

Withholding the Telephone Tax

TELECOM Digest Editor (ptownson@telecom-digest.org)
Tue, 22 Feb 2005 03:51:54 EST

Some folks are not aware of it, but you _can_ withhold (refuse to pay)
that federal tax which is added to your phone bill each month, and the
telephone company _cannot_ disconnect your service. Let's say for
example, you have personal grievances or problems with President
Bush's Religious War against Islam in Iraq, or his pending (soon to
start almost any day) attack against Iran for similar bogus reasons.

Check with your own attorney for further advice and counsel on this,
but during Vietnam for example, almost _no one_ bothered to pay the
telephone tax, mainly out of protest to the war.

You do need to notify the communications carrier of your intent, in
the form of a registered, certified letter so that you do not get put
down for a 'short payment' on their books each month with a balance
still owing. Telco will respond with a letter or phone call saying
they are 'obligated' under the law to collect the tax. They cannot cut
off your service as long as you pay the tariffed amount for the
service howeverm while withholding the tax.

What they can do, if they wish, is notify the government that 'person
X has declined to pay the tax'. The government can then do whatever it
wishes, but during Vietnam, the government did not think it worth
their time to go after the millions of Americans who were protesting
the small amounts of tax withheld. Often times, in fact, telco did
not find it worth their time to even bother notifying the government;
neither did they pay to the government what they did not collect each
month, but the total remittance each month to the government from
telco was noticably less for the several years of the Vietnam War.
But make sure you only withhold the item on your phone bill shown as
'federal tax', and the witrhheld amount should be set aside, such as
in an escrow account, so your intentions are also honorable, and easy
to see. DO NOT just withold the tax money then spend it on personal
activities. Be certain you can account for it.

As I noted, you may wish to consult your attorney or tax advisor on
this; it worked perfectly well during Vietnam, and my feeling is we
are in for several more years of this illegitimate war with President
Bush in charge of things.

PAT

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