Tirconnell
09-21-2007, 04:42 PM
Court Upholds Kentucky DBS Tax
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District denied a joint request made by DIRECTV and DISH Network to reconsider an earlier decision that taxes DBS services in Kentucky. With the decision, the satellite TV companies lose out on their first attempt to fight the tax levy.
Court documents, filed Sept. 18, said no judge supported the motion to schedule another hearing.
"We are disappointed with the ruling. This tax is unfair and discriminatory because it places an additional tax burden on satellite TV subscribers," EchoStar told SkyREPORT. "We intend to examine all our options and take action to protect our customers from this kind of discrimination, including appealing the decision."
The tax was initially approved by the Kentucky State Legislature in 2005 and took effect last year. In reorganizing its tax structure regarding pay-TV providers, the legislature determined venders would pay a 3 percent excise tax and a 2.4 percent tax on gross revenues.
At that time, DIRECTV and EchoStar sued the state's Department of Revenue commissioner to overturn the law saying the tax was unconstitutional. In May, the court ruled against the satellite TV companies allowing the taxes to remain in place.
As of press time, DIRECTV had yet to respond to SkyREPORT's requests for comment.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District denied a joint request made by DIRECTV and DISH Network to reconsider an earlier decision that taxes DBS services in Kentucky. With the decision, the satellite TV companies lose out on their first attempt to fight the tax levy.
Court documents, filed Sept. 18, said no judge supported the motion to schedule another hearing.
"We are disappointed with the ruling. This tax is unfair and discriminatory because it places an additional tax burden on satellite TV subscribers," EchoStar told SkyREPORT. "We intend to examine all our options and take action to protect our customers from this kind of discrimination, including appealing the decision."
The tax was initially approved by the Kentucky State Legislature in 2005 and took effect last year. In reorganizing its tax structure regarding pay-TV providers, the legislature determined venders would pay a 3 percent excise tax and a 2.4 percent tax on gross revenues.
At that time, DIRECTV and EchoStar sued the state's Department of Revenue commissioner to overturn the law saying the tax was unconstitutional. In May, the court ruled against the satellite TV companies allowing the taxes to remain in place.
As of press time, DIRECTV had yet to respond to SkyREPORT's requests for comment.