Sprint is being investigated by business regulators in Texas for
charging what it calls the “Texas Margin Reimbursement Fee” The fee of
1% began to be levied on invoices in January of this year and already
there are allegations that it is nothing more than a tax on service,
and business taxes under the new Business Margin Tax are not to be
collected until May 2008.
Sprint has stated that it is starting to collect the fee now according to projections on taxes and has stated that 1% is less than what they need to cover taxes under the new law, but according to the state Comptroller, businesses are only being charged 0.6% in business taxes under concessions made last year that led to the elimination of property taxes for homeowners in the state.
By charging 1% for 18 months they would be collecting more than necessary, Sprint has caught the attention of the State Attorney General and State Comptroller by stating that they do not have the freedom to collect this fee at this rate, effectively charging a tax and overcharging customers. The tax code specifies that if any company charges more than it owes in taxes The Comptroller sends a letter stating the practice be stopped within 15 days, with a lawsuit being filed seeking an injunction to halt collection if not halted within that time period. As of today Sprint has no plans to stop charging the
fee.
