New York Judge Rules Federal Universal Service Fund Fee Subject to State Sales Tax

• New York Division of Tax Appeals ruled that T-Mobile’s Federal Universal Service Fund fees are subject to state sales tax.
• Providers must contribute to the FUSF to support affordable telecommunications in rural and low-income areas.
• T-Mobile included FUSF fees in its bundled charges to customers.
• T-Mobile argued FUSF fees are not taxable as they are not charges for mobile telecommunications services.
• The DTA rejected T-Mobile’s argument, citing a previous decision that such fees are taxable when bundled.
• The DTA distinguished this case from a May 2025 decision involving Time Warner, where FUSF fees were deemed nontaxable.
• The DTA found no constitutional violation in taxing FUSF fees within bundled plans.

Source: ryan.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.