I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2309 

To restrict any State or local jurisdiction from imposing a new discriminatory 

tax on cell phone services, providers, or property. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2013 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. 

AMODEI, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. BARTON, Ms. BASS, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 

BOUSTANY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. 

BROUN of Georgia, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CALVERT, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON

of Indiana, Mr. CARTER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COLLINS of 

Georgia, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. 

CRENSHAW, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. DENT, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mr. ENYART, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. FLORES, 

Mr. FORBES, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. GINGREY

of Georgia, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. 

HALL, Mr. HANNA, Mr. HARPER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. HOLT, 

Mr. HONDA, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. ISRAEL, 

Mr. ISSA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. 

KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. KLINE, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LANCE, Mr. LATTA, 

Mr. LONG, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARINO, Mr. 

MATHESON, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. OLSON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. POLIS, Mr. RADEL, Mr. 

REED, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. ROKITA, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. ROSS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. 

RUNYAN, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. SALMON, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of 

California, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. 

SESSIONS, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. 

SINEMA, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. 

STOCKMAN, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON

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of Mississippi, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. TONKO, Mr. VARGAS, 

Mr. VEASEY, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. WEBSTER of 

Florida, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. WHITFIELD, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. YODER, Mr. MASSIE, 

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. DESANTIS, and Mr. COLE) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To restrict any State or local jurisdiction from imposing 

a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services, providers, or property. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wireless Tax Fairness 

5 Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) It is appropriate to exercise congressional 

9 enforcement authority under section 5 of the 14th 

10 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 

11 and Congress’ plenary power under article I, section 

12 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States 

13 (commonly known as the ‘‘commerce clause’’) in 

14 order to ensure that States and political subdivisions 

15 thereof do not discriminate against providers and 

16 consumers of mobile services by imposing new selecmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tive and excessive taxes and other burdens on such 

2 providers and consumers. 

3 (2) In light of the history and pattern of dis4 criminatory taxation faced by providers and con5 sumers of mobile services, the prohibitions against 

6 and remedies to correct discriminatory State and 

7 local taxation in section 306 of the Railroad Revital8 ization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (49 

9 U.S.C. 11501) provide an appropriate analogy for 

10 congressional action, and similar Federal legislative 

11 measures are warranted that will prohibit imposing 

12 new discriminatory taxes on providers and con13 sumers of mobile services and that will assure an ef14 fective, uniform remedy. 

15 SEC. 3. MORATORIUM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—No State or local jurisdiction shall 

17 impose a new discriminatory tax on or with respect to mo18 bile services, mobile service providers, or mobile service 

19 property, during the 5-year period beginning on the date 

20 of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

22 (1) MOBILE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘mobile serv23 ice’’ means commercial mobile radio service, as such 

24 term is defined in section 20.3 of title 47, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 actment of this Act, or any other service that is pri2 marily intended for receipt on, transmission from, or 

3 use with a mobile telephone or other mobile device, 

4 including but not limited to the receipt of a digital 

5 good. 

6 (2) MOBILE SERVICE PROPERTY.—The term 

7 ‘‘mobile service property’’ means all property used 

8 by a mobile service provider in connection with its 

9 business of providing mobile services, whether real, 

10 personal, tangible, or intangible (including goodwill, 

11 licenses, customer lists, and other similar intangible 

12 property associated with such business). 

13 (3) MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

14 ‘‘mobile service provider’’ means any entity that sells 

15 or provides mobile services, but only to the extent 

16 that such entity sells or provides mobile services. 

17 (4) NEW DISCRIMINATORY TAX.—The term 

18 ‘‘new discriminatory tax’’ means a tax imposed by a 

19 State or local jurisdiction that is imposed on or with 

20 respect to, or is measured by, the charges, receipts, 

21 or revenues from or value of— 

22 (A) a mobile service and is not generally 

23 imposed, or is generally imposed at a lower 

24 rate, on or with respect to, or measured by, the 

25 charges, receipts, or revenues from other servmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ices or transactions involving tangible personal 

2 property; 

3 (B) a mobile service provider and is not 

4 generally imposed, or is generally imposed at a 

5 lower rate, on other persons that are engaged 

6 in businesses other than the provision of mobile 

7 services; or 

8 (C) a mobile service property and is not 

9 generally imposed, or is generally imposed at a 

10 lower rate, on or with respect to, or measured 

11 by the value of, other property that is devoted 

12 to a commercial or industrial use and subject to 

13 a property tax levy, except public utility prop14 erty owned by a public utility subject to rate of 

15 return regulation by a State or Federal regu16 latory authority; 

17 unless such tax was imposed and actually enforced 

18 on mobile services, mobile service providers, or mo19 bile service property prior to the date of enactment 

20 of this Act. 

21 (5) STATE OR LOCAL JURISDICTION.—The term 

22 ‘‘State or local jurisdiction’’ means any of the sev23 eral States, the District of Columbia, any territory 

24 or possession of the United States, a political sub25 division of any State, territory, or possession, or any 

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1 governmental entity or person acting on behalf of 

2 such State, territory, possession, or subdivision that 

3 has the authority to assess, impose, levy, or collect 

4 taxes or fees. 

5 (6) TAX.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘tax’’ means 

7 a charge imposed by a governmental entity for 

8 the purpose of generating revenues for govern9 mental purposes, and excludes a fee imposed on 

10 a particular entity or class of entities for a spe11 cific privilege, service, or benefit conferred ex12 clusively on such entity or class of entities. 

13 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘tax’’ does 

14 not include any fee or charge— 

15 (i) used to preserve and advance Fed16 eral universal service or similar State pro17 grams authorized by section 254 of the 

18 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

19 254); 

20 (ii) specifically dedicated by a State or 

21 local jurisdiction for the support of E–911 

22 communications systems; or 

23 (iii) used to preserve and advance 

24 Federal telecommunications relay services 

25 or State programs implementing this Fedmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 eral mandate pursuant to title IV of the 

2 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

3 (Public Law 101–336; 104 Stat. 327) and 

4 codified in section 225 of the Communica5 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 225). 

6 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 (1) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of sub8 section (b)(4), all taxes, tax rates, exemptions, de9 ductions, credits, incentives, exclusions, and other 

10 similar factors shall be taken into account in deter11 mining whether a tax is a new discriminatory tax. 

12 (2) APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES.—Except as 

13 otherwise provided in this Act, in determining 

14 whether a tax on mobile service property is a new 

15 discriminatory tax for purposes of subsection 

16 (b)(4)(C), principles similar to those set forth in sec17 tion 306 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regu18 latory Reform Act of 1976 (49 U.S.C. 11501) shall 

19 apply. 

20 (3) EXCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of this Act— 

22 (A) the term ‘‘generally imposed’’ as used 

23 in subsection (b)(4) shall not apply to any tax 

24 imposed only on— 

25 (i) specific services; 

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1 (ii) specific industries or business seg2 ments; or 

3 (iii) specific types of property; and 

4 (B) the term ‘‘new discriminatory tax’’ 

5 shall not include a new tax or the modification 

6 of an existing tax that either— 

7 (i)(I) replaces one or more taxes that 

8 had been imposed on mobile services, mo9 bile service providers, or mobile service 

10 property; and 

11 (II) is designed so that, based on in12 formation available at the time of the en13 actment of such new tax or such modifica14 tion, the amount of tax revenues generated 

15 thereby with respect to such mobile serv16 ices, mobile service providers, or mobile 

17 service property is reasonably expected to 

18 not exceed the amount of tax revenues that 

19 would have been generated by the respec20 tive replaced tax or taxes with respect to 

21 such mobile services, mobile service pro22 viders, or mobile service property; or 

23 (ii) is a local jurisdiction tax that may 

24 not be imposed without voter approval, 

25 provides for at least 90 days’ prior notice 

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1 to mobile service providers, and is required 

2 by law to be collected from mobile service 

3 customers. 

4 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

5 Notwithstanding any provision of section 1341 of title 

6 28, United States Code, or the constitution or laws of any 

7 State, the district courts of the United States shall have 

8 jurisdiction, without regard to amount in controversy or 

9 citizenship of the parties, to grant such mandatory or pro10 hibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable relief, and de11 claratory judgments as may be necessary to prevent, re12 strain, or terminate any acts in violation of this Act. 

13 (1) JURISDICTION.—Such jurisdiction shall not 

14 be exclusive of the jurisdiction which any Federal or 

15 State court may have in the absence of this section. 

16 (2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The burden of proof 

17 in any proceeding brought under this Act shall be 

18 upon the party seeking relief and shall be by a pre19 ponderance of the evidence on all issues of fact. 

20 (3) RELIEF.—In granting relief against a tax 

21 which is discriminatory or excessive under this Act 

22 with respect to tax rate or amount only, the court 

23 shall prevent, restrain, or terminate the imposition, 

24 levy, or collection of not more than the discriminamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tory or excessive portion of the tax as determined by 

2 the court. 

3 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY. 

4 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

5 States shall conduct a study, throughout the 5-year period 

6 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, to 

7 determine— 

8 (1) how, and the extent to which, taxes imposed 

9 by local and State jurisdictions on mobile services, 

10 mobile service providers, or mobile property, impact 

11 the costs consumers pay for mobile services; and 

12 (2) the extent to which the moratorium on dis13 criminatory mobile services taxes established in this 

14 Act has any impact on the costs consumers pay for 

15 mobile services. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 years after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

18 submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary 

20 of the Senate, a report containing the results of the study 

21 required under subsection (a) and shall include in such 

22 report recommendations for any changes to laws and regu23 lations relating to such results. 

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