Leave it to our senior senator to sniff out the bizzarre 19th century law that means New Yorkers pay extra in cellphone taxes! Senator Schumer is complaining that a law from the Spanish American War (circa 1898), originally created to generate revenue for the federal government, should be discarded - as it has in other parts of the country - and that the IRS should refund NYers $50 for the past three years of paying the tax. Gothamist hates reading our cellphone bill, because even though we think we have a great plan (many minutes! text messages galore!), the taxes really stink.
And we got this reminder from a friend:
JUST A REMINDER....ON Feb. 5th 2006, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. ...YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS...
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: >888-382-1222. It is the national DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You can also register at www.donotcall.gov
Yeah, we are so not excited about ads coming to cellphones. Update: Everyone has been helpfully telling us that we're wrong, stupid and a sucker in comments, which Gothamist appreciates. Many special thanks to all of you, including reader Ted who sent us this definitive FTC press release that says this email forward is incorrect and, well, anxiety-producing. Now we know better than to pay attention to things our friends send us. Much love!
