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Reconsideration of District of Columbia 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone System Surcharge and Effect of New Amendments

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Highlights

This responds to two requests from the office of the District of Columbia Corporation Counsel with regard to the District of Columbia 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone System considered in B-288161, April 8, 2002, to James M. Eagen III, Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives. The Corporation Counsel asked us to reconsider our decision that the U.S. House of Representatives is not required to pay the District 9-1-1 emergency telephone system surcharge as originally enacted in 2000. The Corporation Counsel also asked whether recent amendments to District law that made fundamental changes to the nature and applicability of the surcharge cured the problem identified in our 2002 decision that made the surcharge an impermissible tax on the federal government. For the reasons given below, we find no basis to change our previous determination that the House of Representatives was not required to pay the District's 9-1-1 emergency telephone system surcharges, as originally enacted. However, the recent amendments to the District 9-1-1 emergency telephone system surcharge changed the nature of the tax. As now imposed, the legal incidence of the tax is not on the federal government, but on the provider of services. Therefore, federal agencies may pay service provider bills that include itemization of the amended District 9-1-1 surcharge.

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Shirley A. Jones
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