Fed excise tax on all phone bills for Spanish-Am War!

[Ross]

Does this surprise anyone? A friend posted this at another forum a few minutes ago. I thought most of you would find this amusing if not angering.

I heard it on our local news and looked into it, it's true...

Everyones (USA) monthly phonebill includes a 3% federal excise tax that is a temporary tax enacted to help fund the Spanish American War which ended in 1898, yet we still pay it...

http://www.taxfoundation.org/prtelephonetax.html

 

[Tom F.]

Hey - Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders didn't come cheap yanno !

 

[ShezaGirlie]

High cost of alcoholic beverages and phone calls to Cuba...

High cost of alcoholic beverages and phone calls to Cuba...

It was all that booze they drank in the 'Roosevelt' Bar in the Menger Hotel which is next to the Alamo in San Antonio. They met there before going off hootin' and hollerin' at the Spanish.

 

[Karlynn]

Still money well spent. When was the last time we were at war with Spain!

 

[Tom F.]

Hey I've been to the bar in the Menger - its a great place to have a few !

 

[RCB]

Congress

Congress

It shouldn't surprise you. Once congress gets their hands on your money, they hate to lower a tax. What they like to do is
"fund" (spend money) on some questionable project, name
it after themselves, get reelected and then tell you how great they are giving you your own money back.

 

[catwoman]

Ross:

I didn't know there were many phones around in the late 1890s.

Janie:

I went into that bar in the Menger once when I was in Santone for a convention. Pretty neat-looking.
Another neat place to visit is a tavern (Jameson's???) right next to the L.L. Bean store in Freeport ME. Two hundred years ago, Maine was part of Massachusetts. In 1820 (I think that's the year), papers creating the state of Maine were signed at that tavern. Still in business. Great lobster!

 

[Marge]

<< Everyones (USA) monthly phonebill includes a 3% federal excise tax that is a temporary tax enacted to help fund the Spanish American War which ended in 1898, yet we still pay it... >>

The reason we still pay it is that it has been re-enacted several times since then -- to pay for later wars.
It was phased out after the end of the Spanish American War, but was reinstated to help finance World War I. Later it helped pay for WWII and for the Korean War. In 1966, it was increased from 3% of telephone bills to 10% to help pay for Vietnam.
After that war it was phased down to 3%, and then extended in the 1980s to help cover the deficit. The tax was permanently set at 3% in the 1990 budget deal under Bush Senior.
In 2000, at a time when the deficit had been (temporarily) replaced by government surpluses, a bill to end the tax was introduced and passed the House. I don't know whether it ever made it through the Senate or what eventually happened to it.
With our current galloping deficit and ongoing military operations, I doubt we're going to see the end of it in the foreseeable future.