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Washington mobile phone users pay highest taxes in US
BY JOSH KERNS on October 12, 2014 @ 8:02 am



A new report finds mobile phone users in Washington state pay the highest taxes in the country on their bills.

The average state-local tax and fee rate in Washington has hit 18.6 percent, according to the Washington, D.C. based Tax Foundation. Add in another 5.82% in federal taxes, and nearly 25 percent of our bills are taxes, says economist Scott Drenkard.

"The thing that's driving it across the country is that the federal government and the state government, and county government, and municipal government, all want a piece of the tax pie," he says.

The organization argues the taxes are unfair, especially compared to the tax burden on other goods and services.

"The average rates of taxes and fees on wireless telephone services are more than two times higher than the average sales tax rates that apply to most other taxable goods and services," Drenkard says. "You can imagine the outrage if beer was taxed every step of the way."

The group says the excessive taxes disproportionately impacts poorer families. It's calling on states to change their tax structures to rely less on wireless taxes in favor of more broad-based tax sources.

Following Washington state on the list with the highest state and local wireless tax rates are Nebraska (18.48 percent), New York (17.74 percent), Florida (16.55 percent), and Illinois (15.81 percent).

The five states with the lowest state-local rates are: Oregon (1.76 percent), Nevada (1.86 percent), Idaho (2.62 percent), Montana (6.00 percent), and West Virginia (6.15 percent).