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National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislatures Opposes
The State Video Tax
Fairness Act of 2007
(h.r. 3679)
WHEREAS, Section 602
of the
Telecommunications
Act of 1996
prohibits political
subdivisions of
state governments
from imposing and
collecting taxes and
fees on direct
broadcasting
satellite services (DBS);
and
WHEREAS, Section 602
also preserves the
authority of the
states to impose and
collect such taxes
and fees on DBS and
to remit some or all
the proceeds of such
taxes and fees to
its political
subdivisions; and
WHEREAS, the
Congress prohibited
such taxation by the
states’ political
subdivisions not to
provide the DBS
industry with a tax
advantage over other
providers of video
services but to
spare the DBS
industry, at that
time a fledgling
industry, from the
administrative
burden of collecting
and remitting taxes
to over 7,500 taxing
jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, some states
have recognized that
DBS’ exemption from
the administrative
burden of local
taxation has created
a competitive
advantage for DBS
over other
multichannel video
service providers
and have achieved
tax parity by
enacting statutes
that impose a state
tax rate on DBS that
appropriately takes
into account all the
state and local
taxes and fees paid
such other providers;
and
WHEREAS, some states
have remitted some
or all of the
proceeds from such
taxes to local
jurisdictions as
permitted by Section
602; and
WHEREAS, the State
Video Tax Fairness
Act of 2007 (H.R.
3679) would label
such tax
arrangements as
discriminatory
taxation; and
WHEREAS, the State
Video Tax Fairness
Act would interfere
with state tax
authority over
multichannel video
programming services,
including digital
broadcasting
satellite services
and reverse state
action upheld by
state and federal
courts to ensure the
parity in the tax
treatment of
multichannel video
service providers;
and
WHEREAS, the State
Video Tax Fairness
Act would freeze
into place the
preferential
treatment that DBS
providers currently
have over other
multichannel video
providers and
prevent states from
fairly equalizing
the total tax burden
imposed on these
services;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the
National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislatures opposes
the State Video Tax
Fairness Act of 2007
(H.R. 3679) and;
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that NHCSL
calls upon the
Congress to resist
this unjustified
interference into
state efforts to
create a tax neutral
choice for consumers;
and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that a
copy of this
resolution be sent
to all members of
the 111th Congress
and the 44th
President of the
United States.
This resolution
was adopted on
November 15, 2008,
at the National
Hispanic Caucus of
State Legislators
Executive Committee
Annual Meeting held
in Las Vegas,
Nevada.
Representative
Joseph Miró (DE),
NHCSL president
Sponsored By:
Representative Mara
Candelaria Reardon
(IN) |
