 Defiance82Computer ElitePremium
join:2002-09-11
Burlington, WI
 ·Time Warner Cable
·Suddenlink
| Weee more taxes... My bill this month went up yet another $2. Seems they added on some more crappy taxes.
Last Few month bills
Premium Unlimited Plan for (09/Aug-08/Sep) $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Total Amount $26.97
New Bills..
Premium Unlimited Plan for (09/Sep-08/Oct) $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
State Communications Service Tax $1.89
Local Communications Service Tax $0.27
Total Amount $29.13
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My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike. |
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 ifarrell
join:2000-08-10
Willow Spring, NC | said by Defiance82:My bill this month went up yet another $2. Seems they added on some more crappy taxes. Last Few month bills Premium Unlimited Plan for (09/Aug-08/Sep) $24.99 Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99 Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99 Total Amount $26.97 New Bills.. Premium Unlimited Plan for (09/Sep-08/Oct) $24.99 Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99 Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99 State Communications Service Tax $1.89 Local Communications Service Tax $0.27 Total Amount $29.13 Your just now paying State Taxes.
A lot of other Vonage users have been paying this for a while.
Sucks, doesn't it? |
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MotoVTVonage User Since Jan 2004
join:2002-12-03
Butler, PA | reply to Defiance82
It does, but consider this......you're still paying a lot less than you would with a land line. Not saying taxes are "good" just trying to offer up some comparison here. |
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Defiance82Computer ElitePremium
join:2002-09-11
Burlington, WI Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
·Suddenlink
| reply to Defiance82
There was a post back a while ago claimning that VoIP in Illinois wassn't taxable. Was in the speakeasy forums for the SpeakEasy VoIP...
For 9 bucks more I might as well just get Comcast VoIP. If these taxes and fees keep getting added I will just pay the extra bucks for better services 0_o
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My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike. |
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| reply to MotoVT
Very Much Less!! My Vonage unlimited plan invoice just came in today, now I am up to $30.10. However I'm still happy. I was paying Verizon over $70/month for a phone I rarely used.
Where the Verizon charges get crazy, I was first billed on my calling plan, which was a basic, $.09/per call local, not including long distance, that basic asscess was app. $9.00 per month, then there were surcharges and taxes on that which SURPASSED the actual amount for that portion of service..... it was something like a little over $10 in surcharges and taxes on a $9.00 plan!!
Next came the features, I had voice mail, call forwarding and call i.d., dont' remember the charges for those three, I was billed for each one as a line item charge for each as I did not have any extra feature "package".
THEN there were surcharges and taxes on the above extra features, which this time, were over $10.00!!
Total surcharges, taxes, recovery fees for Vonage > $5.11
Verizon > app. $25.00 give or take.
Now had I ever used Verizon for long distance (never did always used my un-limited 24/7 cell phone > NON Verizon) the damage would have been much worse using Verizon for long distance.
The problem is that Verizon is taxing and surcharging each segment of your bill over and over.
If there were a "total package" available from POTS providers, Verizon etc. i.e. all the extra calling features and long distance included in one flat price, then they would only have to charge one set of taxes and surcharges.......
I wish I had one of my old Verizon invoices to give you guys the exact breakdown but it was just plain crazy.
Still have Verizon DSL (dry loop/naked) here and very pleased, much better than cable.......
Vonage has been rock solid for me since July, 100% up time, (have a UPS power back up in case of blackout), excellent call quality, no dropped calls, no messy audio, features work great, and being a bit of a geek, let me tell you I have put it to the test,,,, 3 way calling, simul ring, call forward, and been making lots of free calls to the UK and Ireland as well....... always perfect.
Sorry to hear Vonage isn't doing well financially, and their IPO on the Stock market was a disaster, but their service is outstanding.......
After all the horrifying stories I've read on here about how poor Vonage service is, I can't help but wonder if the majority of people having such poor service are perhaps not of the tech savvy crowd and just don't know how to properly install VOIP. |
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Sbrav77Premium
join:2004-03-02
Bourbonnais, IL | reply to Defiance82
Re: Weee more taxes... My bill in Illinois also went up about 1.90. Give or take a few cents. They have added the "Illinois State Communications Tax". I"m sure this is just another way for Illinois to try and squeeze some extra money out of consumers and into the state fund. |
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 djaThe 'd' is silent ... unlike the member.Premium
join:2002-03-25
Niagara | reply to Defiance82
As there has been some question as to which states impose taxes on Voip and communication in general, here is the list.
List of states in which tax is collected:
Arkansas (AR)
Arizona (AZ)
Colorado (CO)
Connecticut (CT)
District of Columbia (DC)
Florida (FL)
Hawaii (HI)
Iowa (IA)
Idaho (ID)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Kansas (KS)
Kentucky (KY)
Massachusetts (MA)
Maine (ME)
Michigan (MI)
Minnesota (MN)
Missouri (MO)
Mississippi (MS)
Nebraska (NE)
North Carolina (NC)
North Dakota (ND)
New Jersey (NJ)
New Mexico (NM)
Nevada (NV)
New York (NY)
Ohio (OH)
Oklahoma (OK)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode Island (RI)
South Carolina (SC)
South Dakota (SD)
Tennessee (TN)
Texas (TX)
Utah (UT)
Virginia (VA)
Vermont (VT)
Washington (WA)
Wisconsin (WI)
West Virginia (WV)
Wyoming (WY)
List of states in which tax is not collected:
Alaska (AK)
Alabama (AL)
California (CA)
Deleware (DE)
Georgia (GA)
Louisiana (LA)
Maryland (MD)
Montana (MT)
New Hampshire (NH)
Oregon (OR)
Sorry for the terribly looooong post.  |
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| Thank you for the list! I did not know there are only few states that don't charge taxes on VOIP. Yeah, Georgia is one of them! Hope it will stay this way forever! |
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| reply to Defiance82
quote:
For 9 bucks more I might as well just get Comcast VoIP. If these taxes and fees keep getting added I will just pay the extra bucks for better services 0_o
You will still end up paying the same taxes on top of the Comcast price. |
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| He is right. Vonage and other voip providers are only recently being regulated like a regular pots (landline) company. As a result, this is why you have to pay the fees.
A regulatory recovery surcharge of $0.99 applies to each phone number. Vonage uses this fee to pay our regulatory-related fees and expenses, including taxes, number portability charges, and related legal fees.
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery of $0.99 applies to each line of service. This fee is used to recover costs directly associated with developing, implementing and maintaining a nationwide E911 in compliance with FCC regulations, Vonage 911 dialing and the Vonage national 911 emergency call center.
State/Local Taxes and Fees: Taxes will vary based on your location.
Anymore problems, feel free to reply or IM me. |
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| reply to EDDOU1290
Re: Very Much Less!! I too had 2 verizon POTS and I had a flat rate service unlimited local and regional Long distance (All I needed as my family all live within the same area code) PLUS They threw in 3 calling features at no extra charge and I had my DSL on one of those lines as well...I had call waiting, Caller ID, and Call forwarding...all for $34.95 per month...NOW for the good part.....after taxes, surcharges, and line charges the bill that was supposed to be so much cheaper for me turned out to be twice what I was paying for BOTH lines put together PLUS my DSL before I signed up for this supposed great deal.
Since going to Vonage I am saving OVER $150 A MONTH...Vonage invoice $31.51...per month....I just think about all the money I COULD have saved if I went with Vonage 2 or 3 years ago....  |
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1 edit | reply to Defiance82
Re: Weee more taxes... BE Happy! Here is what my Vonage Bill looks like in Texas... almost as bad as a land line!
Premium Unlimited Plan $24.99
International Calls for $3.30
Canadian Virtual Phone Number $4.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $1.98
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Sales Tax $2.81
County 911 Fee $0.50
Total Amount $39.56
I thought you could not add these fee since they really don't know where my adapter is plugged in! Its very sad! |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX | said by chsteiger:BE Happy! Here is what my Vonage Bill looks like in Texas... almost as bad as a land line! Premium Unlimited Plan $24.99 International Calls for $3.30 Canadian Virtual Phone Number $4.99 Regulatory Recovery Fee $1.98 Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99 Sales Tax $2.81 County 911 Fee $0.50 Total Amount $39.56 I thought you could not add these fee since they really don't know where my adapter is plugged in! Its very sad! That doesn't look too bad. Only the last two items (8.4% of the total) are actual taxes that Vonage pay to the state. If you've got a cell phone then look at what percentage of your total bill is taxes. It will be much higher. |
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1 edit | reply to Anon
Re: Weee more taxes...I too live in Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs, and pay a few taxes and fees. Total is still a lot less then AT&T, without any long distance.
Residential Premium Unlimited Plan $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
State Communications Service Tax $1.89
Local Communications Service Tax $1.62
Total Amount $30.48 |
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| Iowa, just got my first bill
Premium Unlimited Plan $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Sales Tax $1.89
Federal Universal Service Surcharge $1.43
Total Amount $30.29 |
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| Description Amount
Premium Unlimited Plan for 1-(718)-xxx-xxxx (02/Oct-01/Nov) $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Sales Tax $2.29
Federal Universal Service Surcharge $1.43
State Excise Tax $0.72
Local Franchise Tax $0.63
County MCTD Surcharge Sec. 186 $0.17
State Franchise Surcharge Sec. 184 $0.11
Local Transit Tax $0.11
County MCTD Surcharge Sec. 184 $0.04
Total Amount $32.47 |
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 ftodd
join:2001-04-11
Pittsburgh, PA | reply to Defiance82
My vonage bill...
Charges Detail:
Premium Unlimited Plan for 1-(412)-xxx-xxxx (03/Oct-02/Nov) $24.99
Premium Unlimited Plan - Additional Line for 1-(412)-xxx-xxxx (03/Oct-02/Nov) $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $1.98
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $1.98
Federal Universal Service Surcharge $2.86
Total Amount
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| Residential Premium Unlimited Plan for 1-(443)-xxx-xxxx (16/Oct-15/Nov) $24.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Federal Universal Service Surcharge $1.43
County 911 Fee $0.75
State 911 Fee $0.25
Total Amount $29.40
Baltimore, MD. |
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