Cellphone tax to pay for deaf services passed by lawmakers
The dollars would pay for technology assistance and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The dollars would pay for technology assistance and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The dollars would pay for technology assistance and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
A new 4.25-cent monthly tax will be added to Louisiana cellphone bills if the governor agrees with a bill backed by lawmakers.
The dollars would pay for technology assistance and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Current law imposes a 5-cent monthly tax on landline phones, with the money deposited into the Telecommunications for the Deaf Fund. The bill would drop that rate to 4.25 cents a month, but expand the tax to wireless services.
The bill by Rep. Patricia Smith, a Baton Rouge Democrat, received final legislative passage with an 85-8 vote Tuesday. If Gov. John Bel Edwards agrees to the proposal, the new tax would take effect Oct. 1. It would raise an estimated $4.7 million annually.
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