AT&T faces a $1 billion payout for unjust mobile Internet fees
The U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois has approved a settlement, in which AT&T will repay $956.16 million in unfair taxes. Those taxes were mobile Internet access fees charged to wireless customers from November, 2005 to September, 2010.
So here's a breakdown of the unfair taxes. Let's say the plan as a whole cost $100 per month, and $30 of that was for mobile Internet access. AT&T was charging taxes on the $100, rather than only $70. And that is in violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prevents taxes from being imposed on Internet access between November 1, 2003, and November 1, 2014.
While AT&T probably could have put up more of a fight, the plaintiffs' lawyers have been impressed with AT&T's candor and willingness to settle: "AT&T was really forthcoming about it and did an unprecedented job of working with us," said the plaintiffs' lead counsel.
We have to commend AT&T for being so agreeable, but we wonder if their willingness to settle might be tied to their potential T-Mobile acquisition. With customer satisfaction waning, and public opinion stacked against the merger, AT&T might have figured that it would be better to take the nearly $1 billion loss, and keep their attorneys focused on the T-Mobile deal.
source: Dayton Business Journal via FierceWireless
So here's a breakdown of the unfair taxes. Let's say the plan as a whole cost $100 per month, and $30 of that was for mobile Internet access. AT&T was charging taxes on the $100, rather than only $70. And that is in violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prevents taxes from being imposed on Internet access between November 1, 2003, and November 1, 2014.
We have to commend AT&T for being so agreeable, but we wonder if their willingness to settle might be tied to their potential T-Mobile acquisition. With customer satisfaction waning, and public opinion stacked against the merger, AT&T might have figured that it would be better to take the nearly $1 billion loss, and keep their attorneys focused on the T-Mobile deal.
source: Dayton Business Journal via FierceWireless
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