Tax Definitions - Massachusetts
Please see below for Tax Definitions.
| LEGEND |
| Tax Type |
Imposed On |
| T |
Telephone (Voice) |
C |
Customer |
| C |
Cable (Video) |
R |
RCN |
| D |
Data (Internet) |
R, P |
RCN passed through
to Customer |
| |
| TAX TYPES |
TAX FOR:
T, C, or D |
IMPOSED
ON |
DEFINITION |
| Federal Excise Tax |
T |
C |
A federal tax on local telephone services and surcharges. |
| Federal Universal Service Fund |
T |
R, P |
A federal surcharge on interstate and international telephone
services to support universal service programs such as the schools and libraries discount
program. The Federal USF is also assessed on the Federal Line Charge and the Local Number
Portability Charge. |
| State Sales Tax |
T, C, or D |
C |
A tax levied by a state government on the sale of
tangible personal property and/or certain services such as telephone or cable. |
| Federal Line Charge |
T |
C |
A nationwide charge that is designed to recover a portion of local
telephone companies' costs associated with providing long distance carriers with access to the
local phone network. Long distance carriers pay the remainder of the cost. This charge is
regulated by the FCC. |
| Local Number Portability |
T |
C |
Local Number Portability charges provide funds for significant
upgrades to networks, services and systems that will allow customers to keep their phone
numbers when they change local phone companies. Per an FCC ruling, each access line is
subject to a this monthly charge regardless of whether the number has been ported or not. |
| Port Charge |
T |
C |
This surcharge is assessed only on Commercial customers using
ISDN and DS-1 products. It is a recurring charge for the use of the port which interfaces
and connects the local loop to a high-speed network. |
| Franchise Fee |
C |
R, P |
A fee paid to a municipality to allow use of the public streets
and rights-of-way and operate a cable television system within that municipality. This is a
contractual agreement with the town/city ans is normally assessed on all cable revenue. |
| OVS Fee - Cable |
C |
R, P |
A fee paid to a municipality to allow use of the public
streets and rights-of-way and operate a cable television system within that municipality.
This is a contractual agreement with the town/city and is normally assessed on all cable
revenue. |
| Use Fee |
T, C |
R, P |
This surcharge is paid to the Wakefield Municipal Gas and
Light Department to access utility poles. |
| Regulatory Fee |
C |
R, P |
This fee is an annual assessment imposed by the FCC pursuant to
Public Law 103-66, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The FCC uses these monies to
offset costs associated with its enforcement, public service, international and policy and
rulemaking activities. |
|
