Menu

Watch
NewsState

Actions

California text tax: New FCC ruling could block proposed text messaging tax

Posted: 11:33 AM, Dec 13, 2018
Updated: 2018-12-13 19:33:42Z
items.[0].image.alt
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
BERLIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 16: A visitor tries out an Apple iPhone 7 on the first day of sales of the new phone at the Berlin Apple store on September 16, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. The new phone comes in two sizes, one with a 4.7 inch display, the other with a 5.5 inch display. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Apple Fans Await iPhone 7

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A new FCC ruling may block a proposal to tax text messages in California . The way it classifies texts could kill the tax.

Wednesday night, the FCC classified text messaging services as "information services" rather than "telecommunications services."

MORE: California wants to tax your text messages.

According to KABC's sister station KGO-TV's media partner The Mercury News, that's important because critics say the commission cannot impose the tax without federal officials classifying text messaging as a "telecommunications service."

The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed extending an existing tax to text messages to fund programs which help the poor.

Story courtesy of KABC .

Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BankingonBusiness_MissionBank

Banking On Business