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JJ Johnson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Fort Collins, CO

JJ Johnson

Premium Member

Re: [Bill] No longer paying sales tax?

I just received a reply to a question that I asked of the city's sales tax department:

> In response to your question, Larimer County District Court determined
> that the Comcast internet access charges are not taxable by the City
> of Fort Collins.

Very interesting. Would that mean that past city sales taxes should be refunded? Let's see... 12 years x 12 months x ~2.50 = $360.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Maybe after it's been upheld in a higher court (no city is going to let all the money go back.

The trouble with a blanket refund (most likely result) is then the city has to add some tax or fee to pay it back and what you recieve (minus legal fees and court costs) will be much less then you will end up paying for the cities mistake
ualdayan
join:2004-07-17
Antioch, TN

ualdayan to JJ Johnson

Member

to JJ Johnson
said by JJ Johnson:

I just received a reply to a question that I asked of the city's sales tax department:

> In response to your question, Larimer County District Court determined
> that the Comcast internet access charges are not taxable by the City
> of Fort Collins.

Very interesting. Would that mean that past city sales taxes should be refunded? Let's see... 12 years x 12 months x ~2.50 = $360.

Federal law says it is illegal for a state/county/city to tax internet service. (Internet PURCHASES are a different matter altogether, but the actual service connection can't be taxed.)

»arstechnica.com/tech-pol ··· tension/

Streetlight
join:2005-11-07
Colorado Springs, CO

Streetlight

Member

said by ualdayan:

said by JJ Johnson:

I just received a reply to a question that I asked of the city's sales tax department:

> In response to your question, Larimer County District Court determined
> that the Comcast internet access charges are not taxable by the City
> of Fort Collins.

Very interesting. Would that mean that past city sales taxes should be refunded? Let's see... 12 years x 12 months x ~2.50 = $360.

Federal law says it is illegal for a state/county/city to tax internet service. (Internet PURCHASES are a different matter altogether, but the actual service connection can't be taxed.)

»arstechnica.com/tech-pol ··· tension/

Not quite. Article referenced is from Oct 26 2007, and notes that the bill passed by the House of Representatives extends the taxation ban for 4 years, presumably to 2011. The Senate version extends the ban for 7 years, to 2014. Also, "The nine states that managed to enact 'Net access taxes prior to the moratorium's enactment in 1998 are exempt from the ban, and would continue to be under the just-passed legislation. "

I'm not sure whether Colorado is one of the nine. No mention of whether the House and Senate came together to pass a bill with a seven year moratorium to the president. More research is necessary to see if this is the law.