When buying a cellphone plan, many customers may assume they’re just agreeing to pay that monthly rate advertised in the window.
But then once that first bill shows up, there are all sorts of little charges and fees that can add up to $10 or more, depending on where the customer lives.
What some may call “hidden fees” are actually supporting a number of public programs, so they’re not a gimmick for the carriers to make more money. In fact, some major wireless companies are fighting a bill in the South Carolina Senate that would add about 1.1 percent to their customers’ bills. They say the proposed law would create a “regressive tax” on the 4.5 million cellphone users in the state to pay for a program that wouldn’t benefit them.
The S.C. Taxpayers Association, a civic group that opposes most legislation that levies new taxes, disagreed with that argument.
“We don’t view this one as a tax increase, because if you don’t use a telephone, whether it’s a cellphone or a landline, then you’re not paying for it,” said Don Weaver, president of the organization. “We just don’t think it’s fair that this cost is not being equally distributed among newer cellphone users.”
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South Carolina Association of Taxpayers 