Los Angeles wants its cut; imposes 9% VoIP tax

Maybe they haven't been reading the news--or their mail from Washington, D.C.--otherwise the voters in Los Angeles would know the 9 percent tax they just approved on VoIP calls has a snowball's chance in, well, it doesn't stand much of a shot in court, where it'll invariably end up.
 
The measure was passed last month and includes a stipulation that drops taxes on all other phone calls from 10 percent to 9 percent. The city told voters the new tax money would go toward police and fire protection.
 
Problem is, the feds last fall passed a seven-year extension of a moratorium protecting Internet access services from federal, state, and local sales or excise taxes. President Bush signed the measure Nov. 1. Must be a slow connection to Los Angeles.
 
For more:
- Read the full story [1] from the Heartland Institute
 
Related articles:
FCC levies VoIP fees [2] on cable operators
FCC eyes putting VoIP into USF pool [3]