Bad News for Vonage Customers!!!

Posts: 6 · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:22 pm Post subject: NYS and taxes

I have to agree that NY is insane with taxes, and there are counties in Ny that are so stressed with state cuts to locals that by years end 4 counties will be at 10% sales tax and within 2 years 8 counties will be over 11%. To me thats BS, and paying sales tax with every vehicle is BS too, someone paid for the tax when it was new, so why does the 2nd, 3rd, 4th whatever owner have to pay tax again? and why does it have to be at least tax on the blue book value of the car. I was "gifted" a car, so I wrote I paid $100, they taxed me at the 6500 blue book value of the car. Enough about the GD taxes in NY.

I can see why NY and other states will begin to hammer Voip, if you think about it it kind of makes sense, while we are not using the lines comming into our house, we are using switches and lines when we dial a landline and the phone company gets NOTHING for switching that call. They want to recuperate some of that revenue to maintain that system, course knowing NY the state wants to steal some for themselves. I like the 27.xx I pay now, if these bastards jack it up I will change my address to escape, but I unfortunatly eventually see the writing on the wall that we will have to pay the damn line fees and 911 taxes and all the other crap we left to escape. The only way around it is those IM chat phone deals, which use NONE of the phone line equipment, soon they'll come up with taxes for that too. Can't win in this country any more, everyone is in your pocket 24/7.

Posts: 66 · Full Forum Member Joined: Feb 07, 2005 Posts: 66

http://news.com.com/FCC%3A+%27Pure%27+VoIP+not+a+phone+service/2100-7352_3-5158105.html?tag=st.rn

I will be willing the FED's get involved!

Posts: 20 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 20

VoIPAdvocate wrote:

ahealey74 wrote:

Well, I guess we all knew it was only a matter of time. New York State has officially ruled that Vonage is a telephone company...

I agree with the previous poster. This is not settled by a long shot. A December press release claimed that Vonage had 350,000 "lines" and was adding them at 30,000 per month. A more recent industry news item stated that Voip subscriptions are currently growing at 900% per year. Voip switch equipment shipments have just overtaken traditional telephone switch equipment shipments. The avalanche is now in full swing. Pity the telecom that tries to get in the way of it or wall his network off from competitors' Voip traffic.

I invite any telecom executive or droid who wants to turn his career into a blackened, smoking pit to just try messing with Vonage or any other Voip traffic. It won't matter whether it's technically not unlawful at the moment. Some law will be stretched to cover it, as Powell of the FCC has already suggested. New law will appear as if by magic, and it will carry criminal penalties. The genie has been let out of the bottle and immense public pressure will toast the cookies of any clueless telecom weenies who think they can sink Vonage by interfering with Voip packets.

Meanwhile, why don't you use a relative's address in another state as your Vonage billing address? The third-party Voip equipment doesn't care where on the planet it is located as long as it has "Internet dial tone."

Something else you could consider, just in general, is the wisdom of living in a State such as New York. After spending the first 35 years or so of my life there I packed up and left, and have never regretted it. New York is a great place to be from. I made the decision one day in bumper to bumper traffic on the Brooklyn ramp to the Manhattan Bridge. Newsradio 88 carried a story about the then moron-in-charge of NYC having proposed putting tolls on the East River bridges. That was it. That was the moment I said, "Enough is too much!" I took my skills and creativity and my earnings forever out from under the thumb of New York State and City taxrats. I haven't contributed a dime to their People's Democratic Republic of New York City in well over 20 years.

There isn't anything New York State and City won't tax if allowed to. The only way to deal effectively with that is to remove one's self and one's business from their jurisdiction.

You are so right.. I can always change my billing address to Pennsylvania to be exempt from this stupid ny ruling eventhough I doubt it will stand up in an higher court. And me living in NY I too am tired of all these taxes. New York is just crazy with everything, My freaking insurance was $162 a month for liability alone yet when I turned my car over to my sister and have her registered it in Pennsylvania the insurance dropped to $41 a month. Same thing with that NYC tax.. If u live in NYC and work anywhere in the state u have to pay NYC tax which I think is just crazy. These people who are always introducing new taxes yet they always approving new pay increases for themselves. I'm sorry but I would without a question change my billing address so fast if Vonage raise my rates.

Posts: 162 · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:31 pm Post subject:

NY = Democrats = Taxes

You do the math.

Posts: 11 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:41 am Post subject:

Heh... Yeah, I was waiting for this one myself. Dosen't suprise me.

What's next though? Okay, tax Voip? Sure... let's do it. Oh yeah, how about taxing email? Oh! And Instant Messaging too! <G>

I dunno how successful that ruling will be though... I'm expecting some court battles on this one myself. ::waits to see::

Wink

--SC--

Posts: 227 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 227

Smeghead wrote:

Why not? When you activate 911 in your account, you get the opportunity to modify the address associated with the account for emergency calls...

True! Forgot that little fact!

Posts: 13 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Apr 18, 2005 Posts: 13

I also wanted to add something to the 911 thing. I have Vonage, have activated 911, and hope that I will never need it.

But how many homes have more than one phone? How many of you have cell phones? My wife has TWO cell phones for work and private, and I have one cell phone -- that's three more phones.

With cellular 911 service it's even more efficient than most people's landline 911 -- I believe the operators actually get your GPS coordinates if your phone is set up to send them automatically. We will quickly pick up one of three cell phones in an emergency (maybe ALL three AND VONAGE!)

I think Vonage has done a great job with 911 -- for those of you that want to spend $50 extra per month on non-VOIP so you can get standard 911 service, you guys can obviously afford the extra taxes affixed to standard phone service. Or maybe for the extra $50 per month savings get a security system for your home. ;}

Posts: 134 · Vonage Representative Joined: Apr 15, 2005 Posts: 134

This is news to me, don't hold your breath.....

Posts: 50 · Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:32 am Post subject:

DigitalVoice wrote:

NY = Democrats = Taxes

You do the math.

I'm sorry, but I think such biased comments are rather inappropriate in a forum like this one. In addition to the fact that sweeping generalities are usually meaningless.

Posts: 28 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Jul 10, 2004 Posts: 28

at some point we will start reading about traditional phone companies in financial trouble, unable to maintain traditional service. The politicians will want to take money from the Voip companies to keep the telephone dynasaur afloat. It will be a heck of a fight.