Jun-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) Introduces Bill to Repeal Spanish-American War Tax

Legislation would end 107 years of “temporary” tax on talking

WASHINGTON – Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced S. 1321 today, which would repeal the 3% federal excise tax on telecommunications, a 107-year-old “temporary” tax enacted to fund the Spanish-American War.

While the Spanish-American War tax was originally billed as a luxury tax in 1898, when only the wealthiest Americans had phones, the telephone is now a ubiquitous part of American life. The tax is therefore highly regressive, as it represents a greater share of the income of poorer Americans.

In 2000, the House of Representatives passed legislation repealing the Spanish-American War tax by a vote of 420-2, and both houses of Congress passed appropriations legislation including the repeal in the same year. President Bill Clinton, however, vetoed the legislation.

“Repealing the Spanish-American War tax is long overdue,” said taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist. “We’ve been stealing money from telephone users for 107 years to fund a war it took us four months to win. We applaud Senator Santorum for taking the lead on this effort, and encourage all senators to cosponsor.”

The House bill, H.R. 1898, was introduced in April by Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA), and has 101 cosponsors.