00 Enrolled SJR 11                                                                                                         
01 Urging the United States Congress to amend the tax code to repeal the federal excise tax on                             
02 communications.                                                                                                         
03                                        _______________                                                                  
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
05      WHEREAS the federal excise tax on communications was enacted in 1898 for the                                     
06 purpose of funding the Spanish-American War; and                                                                        
07      WHEREAS the tax was introduced as a "temporary" luxury tax; and                                                  
08      WHEREAS telephone service is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for                                      
09 consumers of all income levels; and                                                                                     
10      WHEREAS the federal excise tax is regressive, as low-income Americans pay a                                      
11 higher percentage of their income for telephone services than high-income Americans; and                                
12      WHEREAS the Internet and other new technologies depend on the                                                    
13 telecommunications infrastructure, so the telecommunications excise tax discourages                                     
14 expansion not only of the telephone infrastructure but also of new technologies; and                                    
15      WHEREAS the federal excise tax on telecommunications flows into the general fund,                                
16 rather than being earmarked for a specific purpose; and                                                                 
17      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.