Jim Rosica
State Sen. Dorothy Hukill has filed legislation to further drop the state tax on cellphone service and cable and satellite television.
The Port Orange Republican filed her bill (SB 256) on Friday morning.
Her bill would cut the “communication services tax,” or CST, another 2 percent to 2.92 percent, and the separate rate on direct-to-home satellite service to 7.07 percent.
Hukill, who chairs the chamber’s Finance and Tax committee, said she did not know the precise hit on revenue such a reduction would cause.
But, she added, “I think (the CST) is still too high … we can do better and pick at it some more.”
Lawmakers passed and Gov. Rick Scott already approved a cut to the communication services tax earlier this year.
That cut is estimated to save the average consumer $20 a year.
The CST also is charged on businesses’ landline telephone service, but not on residential.
Kurt Wenner, vice president of research for Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit watchdog organization, said his group supports the bill in principle.
“We’ve promoted cutting the CST for many, many years,” he said.
A 2007 study by the Heartland Institute found that “taxes and fees on communication services nationally add up to $37 billion a year.”
That study also concluded that taxes on communication services were “twice as high as taxes on other goods.”
If passed, Hukill’s bill would take effect next July 1.
In a 2-1 decision, an appellate court this year found that charging a higher tax rate on satellite services than on cable services “unconstitutionally discriminates” against satellite TV providers. The court reversed a summary judgment against the companies.
