Spanish-American War Tax Set To Go; Will Other Excise Taxes Soon Follow?

Byline: Daniel J. Murphy, Investor's Daily

The likely demise of a 102-year-old excise tax on telephone use might open the door to cutting a bevy of such levies. On Thursday, the House is expected to pass, easily, a measure to cut Uncle Sam's monthly 3% add-on to your phone bill. The change would deprive the federal government of more than $ 19 billionover the next five years and would take three years to implement. Because excise taxes hit the poor hardest, lurk largely hidden from those who pay them and have just a modest effect on revenue, they might be vulnerable to further reductions. Consumers aren't the only ones paying the tab. Businesses pay a hefty freight as well. Other excise taxes - whether attached to production of alcoholic beverages, fuel or foreign insurance policies and much in between - could soon find …