Nickle and Dimed

Federal, state and local surcharges and fees are breaking the bank for wireless consumers. From June 2002 through June 2008, 22 California cities approved requests to extend their public utilities taxes to “modern forms of communication,” i.e., wireless services such as cell phones, Internet access and text messaging services.What caused this wave of new taxes at the state and local levels? Ironically, a federal tax cut.