Telephone Tax Rebate

For once, one of those pesky email pass-alongs was real and worth reading. For some reason, this one caught my eye and I didn’t do the normal speed delete, and saw something that was a little unbelievable. But, having checked it out, I can say that it is real and worth the effort to fill in a couple of lines on your tax form.

Three Reasons It Was Unbelievable:
1. It was an email pass-along. I think I can count on one hand the number of “forwards” that have really been worth reading. No matter how much the sender thinks his/hers is different than all the rest, they almost always are just like all the others. You’ve seen the stuff too: 10 Reasons Coca Cola is Better For You Than Water; The Secret to Being Rich; Joey Wants to Get 1 Million Valentines Before He Dies; etc., etc., etc.

2. It suggested that a government tax had outlived its purpose AND by court order was rescinded. Everybody knows that once the government implements a tax, it never rescinds that tax – even if its intended purpose has been met.

3. It suggested that it would be quite simple to get this particular tax refund from the IRS. No muss, no fuss, just show me the money!

Well, it’s true. You can check out Snopes.Com’s explanation, but you might be more convinced by reading the IRS page about this tax rebate.

The long and short of it is, if you have paid for any type of long distance phone service in the United States between February 28, 2003 and August 1, 2006, you are entitled to a one-time tax refund from the IRS. Strange as it sounds, the government has been wrongly taxing long distance telephone service and the federal courts have put a stop to it.

The easy claim is:
$30 for one person
$40 for two persons
$50 for three persons
$60 for four or more persons.

If you actually have your phone records for the 41-month period covered by this refund, you can get all the tax you paid on long distance refunded.

Please let your friends and family know of this. After all, it is your/their money to begin with.