Florida Satellite TV Tax Update

On May 4, 2005, DIRECTV Inc. and DISH Network, the two providers of satellite TV service in the nation, filed suit challenging the constitutionality of provisions in Florida's communications services tax law that discriminate against satellite TV services by imposing a higher tax than paid by cable subscribers.

Over the last two years, the cable industry has been on a lobbying blitz trying to convince state legislatures to impose discriminatory taxes on its main competitor, satellite TV. The vast majority of state legislatures have rejected these discriminatory tax proposals. Unfortunately, a handful of states including Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah, have succumbed to cable's lobbying pressure and enacted these unfair tax schemes. The satellite television industry has aggressively pursued legal action against states imposing discriminatory taxes.