Looking to fill the NANOG US Thanksgiving void (as a Canadian in the USA, I have some spare time): In San Jose, an upstream is charging us this 5% tax: http://www2.csjfinance.org/UUT.asp I think it's bogus, because the tax "applies to intrastate telephone communications only" and, consistent with the long-standing FCC 128 tariff, Internet circuits are regarded has being interstate and not intrastate. But the upstream says:
Our tax advisors at Deloitte have confirmed that we are required to charge the San Jose User Utility Tax shown on your invoice. The Internet Tax Freedom Act exemption is not applicable to our services as this exemption is for internet access only, not bandwidth usage.
I think the last sentence is not relevant, but even if it is relevant, is it correct? I note that wikipedia says:
This law bars federal, state and local governments from taxing Internet access and from imposing discriminatory Internet-only taxes such as bit taxes, BANDWIDTH TAXES, and email taxes.
I know, IANAL, YANAL, Wiki is not a lawyer... but I figure someone else must have previously dealt with this (or something very close). Thanks, -mark
On Nov 22, 2007 1:30 PM, Mark Kent <mark@noc.mainstreet.net> wrote:
Mark, I suggest you contact Dat Vu (the individual listed on that page) and ask: "What kinds of common Internet-related commerce and activity are subject to the UUT? Please provide me with your list. Thanks." I'd be interested to hear his response. You can find the San Jose Municipal Code here: http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=14367&sid=5 The relevant section is 4.68. The word "Internet" does not appear. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William D. Herrin herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us 3005 Crane Dr. Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004
participants (2)
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Mark Kent
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William Herrin