I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1087 
To ensure that methods of collecting taxes and fees by private citizens 
on behalf of State and local jurisdictions are fair and effective and 
do not discriminate against interstate commerce for wireless tele-
communications services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2015 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself and Mr. ZINKE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To ensure that methods of collecting taxes and fees by pri-
vate citizens on behalf of State and local jurisdictions 
are fair and effective and do not discriminate against 
interstate commerce for wireless telecommunications 
services. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wireless Telecommuni-
cations Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) States may designate in-State or out-of- 
State persons or other entities as collection agents 
for the State with a duty to collect certain taxes and 
fees for wireless telecommunications from residents 
of the State. 
(2) States have the sovereign right to tax their 
citizens, subject to the Constitution and the law. 
States do not have the right to tax interstate com-
merce or to impose taxes or other duties on citizens 
of other States without limitation. 
(3) Collection agents for a State may feasibly 
collect fees and taxes from customers in connection 
with financial transactions to which the agent and 
customer are parties. 
(4) Congress can help ensure against unreason-
able burdens on interstate commerce by making a fi-
nancial transaction a condition of imposing a duty 
on a person to serve as a collection agent for the 
State and making such person strictly liable for any 
failure to collect. 
SEC. 3. TRANSACTIONAL NEXUS REQUIREMENT. 
No State or local jurisdiction may require any person 
to collect from, or remit on behalf of, any other person 
any state or local fee, tax or surcharge imposed on a pur-
chaser or user with respect to the purchase or use of any 
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wireless telecommunications service within a State, unless 
there is a financial transaction between the person from 
whom the State seeks to require such collection or remit-
tance and the purchaser or user of such service. ‘‘Wireless 
telecommunications service’’ means commercial mobile 
radio service, as defined in section 20.3 of title 47 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (January 16, 2015). ‘‘Finan-
cial transaction’’ means that there is a transaction involv-
ing cash, credit or any other exchange of monetary value 
or consideration given by the purchaser or user upon 
whom the fee, tax or surcharge is imposed to the person 
required to collect or remit the fee, tax or surcharge. The 
term ‘‘State or local jurisdiction’’ means any of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, any territory or posses-
sion of the United States, a political subdivision of any 
State, territory, or possession, or any governmental entity 
or person acting on behalf of such State, territory, posses-
sion, or subdivision that has the authority to assess, im-
pose, levy, or collect taxes or fees. This section shall have 
no effect on a state or local jurisdiction’s right to require 
the collection of any tax, fee, or surcharge in instances 
where a financial transaction has occurred. 
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 
Notwithstanding any provision of section 1341 of title 
28, United States Code, or of the constitution or laws of 
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any State, the district courts of the United States shall 
have jurisdiction, without regard to amount in controversy 
or citizenship of the parties, to grant such mandatory or 
prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable relief, and 
declaratory judgments as may be necessary to prevent, re-
strain, or terminate any acts in violation of this Act. 
Æ 
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