Have you looked at your phone bill lately?  I have to confess to mostly ignoring it, because I have an “unlimited” plan with Verizon (no per-minute long distance charges) and it’s bundled in with my Internet and TV.  But I recently did my taxes and the tax credit for phone taxes prompted me to take another look this time around.

There’s a ridiculous list of charges, surcharges, fees, taxes, and recovery fees (17 in all) that combined, make for an effective tax rate of 35.6%.  I’m trying to think of anything (aside from “sin taxes”) that’s so horribly taxed and I’m not coming up with anything.  Maybe it’s time to give up the land line in favor of the cell phone.  While there are taxes on the cellular bill, they’re nowhere near as bad as this.