South Dakota Wireless Consumers to Benefit Directly and Immediately From Tax Repeal

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless confirmed today that its South Dakota customers will directly and immediately benefit if voters approve Ballot Initiative No. 8 to repeal the State's 4 percent gross receipts tax on wireless service.

"Since the South Dakota gross receipts tax on wireless service went into effect in 2003, Verizon Wireless has been collecting a specific, separate, line-item surcharge from its customers to fund its cost of paying this tax. If the people of South Dakota vote to repeal the tax, then our surcharge will stop immediately," said Stacey Sprinkle, director federal and state tax policy -- Verizon Wireless. "For Verizon Wireless, the decision to drop the surcharge is obvious. If the tax is repealed, we will drop the surcharge from customer bills, and any claims to the contrary by defenders of the tax are simply baseless."

The South Dakota 4 percent gross receipts tax on wireless services is in addition to other taxes, fees and surcharges that already apply to wireless phone services, including the local sales tax, county 911 fees, public utility fees, and federal regulatory surcharges. South Dakotans pay nearly 15 percent of their wireless bill in these taxes, fees, and surcharges, ranking the state as 11th highest in the nation for total wireless taxes, according to South Dakotans Against Double Taxation, co-chaired by former state Senator Alan Aker and former Augustana College President Bruce Halverson.

For more information on Ballot Initiative No. 8 visit: http://www.sdyeson8.org/ .

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