03-12-2010, 12:17 PM
Profit for the phone company.I don't think Hawaiiantel still lists it separately.
It was originally the extra that they charged for touch tone service.
My telephone company in Ohio has a separate charge for a dial tone ???
Once a fee or tax is in there it is hard to get rid of.
This is from 2006 but illustrates what I mean:
A pesky, century-old tax on your phone bill is finally being put to rest.
The Treasury Department said Thursday that it will no longer collect a 3% federal excise tax on long-distance calls and would refund about $15 billion to taxpayers.
The tax was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War. It was designed as a tax on wealthy Americans, back when phone service was considered a luxury.
"It's not often you get to kill a tax, particularly one that goes back so far in history," Treasury Secretary John Snow said.
It was originally the extra that they charged for touch tone service.
My telephone company in Ohio has a separate charge for a dial tone ???
Once a fee or tax is in there it is hard to get rid of.
This is from 2006 but illustrates what I mean:
A pesky, century-old tax on your phone bill is finally being put to rest.
The Treasury Department said Thursday that it will no longer collect a 3% federal excise tax on long-distance calls and would refund about $15 billion to taxpayers.
The tax was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War. It was designed as a tax on wealthy Americans, back when phone service was considered a luxury.
"It's not often you get to kill a tax, particularly one that goes back so far in history," Treasury Secretary John Snow said.