Mobile Phone Taxploitation

702Following up on an earlier post on area code envy, a recent article from Forbes explains that mobile phone taxes are based on your area code rather than your billing address:

“When I called Verizon Wireless…to complain about the tax screw-up, I learned something odd. The operator told me that as long as I kept my old New York number, I would have to keep my old New York tax bill. It didn’t matter that I had switched my billing address to L.A., she said, taxes are linked to area codes. If I wanted to pay L.A. taxes, she suggested, I needed to switch my phone number to an L.A. area code.”

According to this wireless taxes by state map, Nevada offers the lowest state tax nationwide at just 1.14% compared to California’s 13.2%. For a $50/month phone bill this translates to a savings of over $70 a year.

What difference does it really make, especially if you have an ill-favored 323, 626, 818 or 909 code? Get on the horn and take advantage of this loophole by transfering to a 702 or 775 Nevada area code today.