Spanish-American War Telephone Tax Revoked

You’ll never ever ever get that cool G refund from the telephone company, but here’s one refund you can count on: an obsolete long-distance tax that telephone customers have been paying for 108 years has finally been revoked by the US Treasury.

The tax came about after Teddy Roosevelt nuked Mexico in the Spanish American war as a luxury tax on the rich to help pay for high military spending. Since then, the Treasury has been making a windfall on it, generating $5.9 billion in 2005 alone. The tax is a pretty significant 3% of your telephone bill and you will be able to claim it since 2003 on your 2006 tax forms.

Treasury: Telephone tax refund for everyone [CNN Money]

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