California regulators will take a vote next month on a proposal that would tax text messages.
The California Public Utilities Commission claims the money raised would support programs that provide phone service to the poor, according to ABC 7.
There is no word on how much the tax would be, but it would most likely be a flat fee added to your bill, notes the Hill.
Obviously, the wireless industry and numerous business group are fighting the plan.
“It’s a dumb idea,” Jim Wunderman, president of business advocacy group the Bay Area Council, told the San Jose Mercury News. “This is how conversations take place in this day and age, and it’s almost like saying there should be a tax on the conversations we have.”
And while the proposal would tax traditional text messaging, it would not tax things like Facebook Messenger or the DMs you get in Twitter, Instagram, and whatever other apps you are using to message these days.
Still, it would give you an excuse for why you didn’t text people back, which would be nice.
