On February 26th, the FCC will vote on whether or not to classify the Internet as a Title II utility, and levy a telecom tax on consumers similar to that charged for phone services. The alternative? Allow Internet providers to create paid Internet fast lanes and charge websites for faster loading speeds.
Personal finance site NerdWallet was curious to find the potential tax implications and here is what they found:
• Internet users in Arizona could pay a total of $129 million in extra taxes if the Internet is determined to be a utility
• Taxing the Internet could cost America’s consumers $6.2 billion each year.
• California and New York residents would see the highest increase in taxes because of the large populations in those states, which are already home to some of the nation’s highest telecommunications tax rates.
• Pennsylvania residents would have to pay the highest increase in taxes per household — an estimated $131 a year.
| State | Most expensive city for Internet service |
Average annual increase per household | Households with Internet connections | Aggregate tax increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Mobile | $55 | 1,156,338 | $63,621,717 |
| Alaska | Fairbanks | $122 | 194,291 | $23,709,408 |
| Arizona | Prescott | $73 | 1,775,037 | $129,366,915 |
| Arkansas | Little Rock | $78 | 685,328 | $53,774,262 |
| California | San Leandro | $98 | 9,849,050 | $960,339,992 |
| Colorado | Grand Junction | $72 | 1,590,621 | $114,591,518 |
| Connecticut | Meriden | $43 | 1,038,960 | $44,462,137 |
| Delaware | Wilmington* | $8 | 252,475 | $2,060,196 |
| Florida | Clearwater | $50 | 5,357,439 | $270,251,189 |
| Georgia | Statesboro | $85 | 2,561,522 | $216,854,610 |
| Hawaii | Honolulu | $69 | 353,938 | $24,375,533 |
| Illinois | Carbondale | $93 | 3,538,136 | $327,921,521 |
| Indiana | Elkhart | $56 | 1,740,176 | $97,916,223 |
| Iowa | Davenport | $47 | 892,115 | $41,844,654 |
| Kansas | Topeka | $48 | 813,151 | $39,122,118 |
| Kentucky | Owensboro | $86 | 1,168,367 | $100,283,393 |
| Louisiana | Shreveport | $127 | 1,119,862 | $142,244,871 |
| Maine | Bangor | $36 | 399,266 | $14,377,169 |
| Maryland | Baltimore | $118 | 1,706,590 | $201,790,103 |
| Massachusetts | Boston | $44 | 2,018,232 | $87,838,502 |
| Michigan | Livonia | $62 | 2,709,483 | $169,048,980 |
| Minnesota | Minneapolis | $59 | 1,621,430 | $94,875,301 |
| Mississippi | Hattiesburg | $62 | 626,123 | $38,990,245 |
| Missouri | Rolla | $61 | 1,649,245 | $100,491,961 |
| Montana | Helena | $35 | 292,739 | $10,230,789 |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | $63 | 532,757 | $33,721,520 |
| Nevada | Las Vegas | $47 | 758,034 | $35,464,621 |
| New Hampshire | Nashua | $45 | 420,011 | $18,963,497 |
| New Jersey | Newark | $48 | 2,512,578 | $121,583,649 |
| New Mexico | Santa Fe | $81 | 485,222 | $39,474,605 |
| New York | Jamaica | $95 | 5,437,771 | $516,490,093 |
| North Carolina | Hendersonville | $46 | 2,662,146 | $121,922,959 |
| North Dakota | Fargo | $74 | 216,199 | $16,010,455 |
| Ohio | Akron | $45 | 3,250,107 | $144,633,824 |
| Oklahoma | Tulsa | $85 | 964,702 | $81,899,582 |
| Oregon | Grants pass | $44 | 1,181,333 | $51,839,845 |
| Pennsylvania | Wilkes Barre | $131 | 3,575,844 | $469,265,160 |
| Rhode Island | Providence* | $69 | 310,751 | $21,353,348 |
| South Carolina | Mount Pleasant | $83 | 1,196,242 | $99,045,608 |
| South Dakota | Sioux Falls* | $93 | 235,761 | $21,943,455 |
| Tennessee | Memphis | $109 | 1,669,343 | $181,609,661 |
| Texas | Longview | $71 | 6,544,799 | $465,625,798 |
| Utah | Sandy | $54 | 716,237 | $38,531,223 |
| Virginia | Harrisonburg | $51 | 2,315,766 | $118,767,533 |
| Washington | Seattle | $88 | 2,086,156 | $183,476,064 |
| West Virginia | Huntington | $44 | 479,665 | $21,217,981 |
| Wisconsin | Appleton | $45 | 1,672,091 | $74,724,911 |
| Wyoming | Cheyenne | $37 | 169,212 | $6,307,377 |
| National estimated tax | $6,254,256,077 |
States where price data was available for one city only.