Got my first new SprintPCS cell phone bill today. I was looking through and found the tax section:

I was especially curious about our city taxes of $1.67, but the total tax bill seemed a bit high proportionately. Now, I understand, hey it’s only $1.67 for the city, but the total amount is $10.95 per month which is added atop the carrier’s regular service fees.

So next I started phoning some of my friends to see what they were paying. A friend of mine’s total taxes were $6.66, he was with T Mobile. We used to be with T Mobile and we were paying $7.50. So from where we were with T-Mobile to move to Sprint PCS the taxes in the same place, it was an increase of $3.45.

I digress. I was very curious what the story with the City Sales Tax was. Here locally there seems to be complaints about decaying budgets and yet the taxes are going up? So where was this $1.67 per month being used?

I went over in person to City Hall and asked the clerk there if she knew what these fees were being used for or where I could research where these fees went. She said they went into a general fund (1.5% of all business the carrier does) and that I could fill out a form to receive a copy of what was being paid since it was in the public domain. However, the form had a charge section so that they could fill in how much they would charge me to access this information.

When I asked about this section, she said: “Oh, we will fill that in.”

That didn’t sound good to me; leaving an open checkbook for the city to decide how many copies of this information they were going to give me when all I wanted to receive was a summary of where this $1.67 per month I was paying was going. When pressed further she responded that it was going to cost me 20 cents per page. 20 cents per page to access information in the public domain?! Where are they buying their paper at? 5 cents a copy seems reasonable, but we aren’t talking color copies here. I imagine the 15 cents goes to the treasurer to push a button on her computer labled print

Now, I know, I sound like a whiner over what some would consider a measly $1.67, but as taxpayers we have a right to ask what is happening with this money. Check your cell phone bills and ask where those taxes are going. Find out what they are being spent on and if the costs are justified. How much in taxes are you paying on your cell phone?

Somehow I think this is only the beginning.

• Cell phone subscription machines, stand and be accountable
• Hold times for phone companies … why?
• Refund on 107 year old cell phone tax
• Legal online music sales PayPal fees reduced, any takers?
• Comparing prepaid wireless to carrier contracts, dollars, cents and sense
• eBay seller fees to increase by 60 percent