Oregon cellphone users who don't have a monthly contract will soon pay a new tax when they refill their minutes. A law that takes effect this month levies a 75 cent transaction tax on prepaid minutes. The money will fund 911 services.
There's a big difference between my wife's cellphone and my cellphone - and it's not just the ringtone.
I'm on one of those two-year contracts. My wife has a prepaid plan.
That means she hasn’t had to pay Oregon's 911 tax, which goes to operate emergency call centers.
People withland linesor cellphones on contract pay 75 cents a month. People with prepaid phones don't pay a penny.
Republican state representative Vicki Berger, who sponsored the measure to change that, says it’s a matter of fairness: "They're using the 911 system. They need to contribute to the 911 system."
Berger says roughly one Oregon cellphone in five is on a prepaid plan.
The new tax will be phased in over the next year. Oregon lawmakers approved it during their February session. The Legislative Revenue Office estimates the change will net an extra million dollars a year.
On the Web:
Oregon HB 4055: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Measures/Overview/HB4055
Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network
