PSA: Telecom tax imposed in 1898 finally ends

The Spanish-American War has been over for more than 100 years, and now so is the tax imposed in 1898 to help fund it.

As of Tuesday, all phone companies selling long-distance phone service are legally required to eliminate the 3 percent federal excise tax on long-distance service, which had been established in 1898 as a luxury tax on wealthy Americans who owned telephones.

The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced on May 25 they plan to stop collecting the tax on long-distance phone calls beginning August 1. Consumers will receive about $15 billion in refunds on their 2006 income tax returns, filed in 2007. The Heartland Institute