I received my Sprint PCS bill today and was pleased to see the slight decrease in the bill (about $6) due to the federal government no longer imposing the federal excise tax on most telecommunications. For those that don’t know, the federal excise tax was enacted in 1898 to help fund the Spanish American War. I also got my MCI bill (local and long distance) and I asked them when they would stop collecting the tax (they’re required to stop collecting it on August 1). Their response was laughable:
Please be informed that Federal Excise Tax is currently 3.00% and applies to all usage (interstate, instate, local toll, and international). This tax is imposed by and paid directly to the government, and has no connection with the Federal Excise Tax on Airline Miles/Rapid Rewards Surcharge.
I almost asked her what rock she (the responder) was living under, but provided links to articles and asked the question again. I’m so not impressed with MCI’s customer service. As long as I don’t contact them, their service is OK. I like having their Neighborhood plan (which they no longer sell) for unlimited local and long distance; the quality is better than VOIP and it is reliable. The only issues I’ve had is the voicemail indicator wouldn’t stop a few times and when we moved, they made a complete mess out of things by cutting off our service 2 weeks early. Other than that, it just works.