00                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 11                                                                    
01 Urging the United States Congress to amend the tax code to repeal the federal excise tax                                
02 on communications.                                                                                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the federal excise tax on communications was enacted in 1898 for the                                    
05 purpose of funding the Spanish-American War; and                                                                        
06       WHEREAS the tax was introduced as a "temporary" luxury tax; and                                                 
07       WHEREAS telephone service is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for                                     
08 consumers of all income levels; and                                                                                     
09       WHEREAS the federal excise tax is regressive, as low-income Americans pay a                                     
10 higher percentage of their income for telephone services than high-income Americans; and                                
11       WHEREAS the Internet and other new technologies depend on the                                                   
12 telecommunications infrastructure, so the telecommunications excise tax discourages                                     
13 expansion not only of the telephone infrastructure but also of new technologies; and                                    
14       WHEREAS the federal excise tax on telecommunications flows into the general fund,                               
15 rather than being earmarked for a specific purpose; and                                                                 
16       WHEREAS the United States Congress passed a repeal of the federal excise tax on                                 
01 telecommunications in 2000, which was vetoed by President Clinton;                                                      
02       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the members of the                                    
03 Alaska delegation to the United States Congress to support a repeal of the federal excise tax                           
04 on communications.                                                                                                      
05       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                    
06 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                              
07 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.