An Act to Clarify the Tax Treatment of Prepaid Wireless
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1056
Sponsors: CROCKETT
Amends: 36 MRSA §1752, 36 MRSA §2551

Legislative Document
No. 1056
H.P. 685
House of Representatives, March 14, 2025
An Act to Clarify the Tax Treatment of Prepaid Wireless 
Telecommunications Service in Maine
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 12, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CROCKETT of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §1752, sub-§8-B, as amended by PL 2003, c. 673, Pt. V, §14 
and affected by §29, is further amended to read:
8-B.  Prepaid calling service.  "Prepaid calling service" means the right to access 
exclusively telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance that enables the 
origination of calls using an access number or authorization code or both, whether manually 
or electronically dialed, and that is sold in predetermined units or dollars, the number of 
which declines with use in a known amount.  "Prepaid calling service" includes a prepaid 
wireless telecommunications service.  The sale or recharge of the service is considered a 
sale within the State if the transfer for consideration takes place at the vendor's place of 
business in the State.  If the sale or recharge of prepaid calling service does not take place 
at the vendor's place of business, the sale or recharge is deemed to take place at the 
customer's shipping address, or if there is no item shipped, at the customer's billing address 
or the location associated with the customer's mobile telephone number.  The sale of the 
service is deemed to occur on the date of the transfer for consideration of the service.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §1752, sub-§8-E is enacted to read:
8-E.  Prepaid wireless telecommunications service.  "Prepaid wireless 
telecommunications service" means a cellular or wireless telecommunications service that 
must be paid for in advance and is sold in predetermined units or dollars, the number of 
which declines with use in a known amount.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §2551, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 673, Pt. V, §25 and 
affected by §29, is amended to read:
9.  Prepaid calling service.  "Prepaid calling service" means the right to access 
exclusively telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance and that enables 
the origination of calls using an access number or authorization code or both, whether 
manually or electronically dialed, and that is sold in predetermined units or dollars, the 
number of which declines with use in a known amount has the same meaning as in section 
1752, subsection 8-B.
Sec. 4.  Retroactivity. This Act applies retroactively to sales occurring on or after 
July 1, 2022, except that a service provider tax paid on a prepaid wireless 
telecommunications service, as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 
1752, subsection 8-E, prior to the effective date of this Act is not eligible to be refunded or 
credited based on the exemption from the service provider tax of prepaid wireless 
telecommunications services under this Act.
SUMMARY
This bill clarifies that prepaid wireless telecommunications services are subject to 
Maine's sales tax.  It also provides that prepaid wireless telecommunications services are 
not subject to Maine's service provider tax.  The bill applies retroactively to sales occurring 
on or after July 1, 2022, but provides that a tax paid on a prepaid wireless 
telecommunications service prior to the effective date of the bill is not eligible to be 
refunded or credited based on the exemption from the service provider tax of prepaid 
wireless telecommunications services under the bill.