Federal legislation would overhaul taxes on cellphones for business

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced legislation to simplify tax treatment of business cellphone use.
“We need to modernize the law now to reflect the reality that the use of cellphones by businesses has changed dramatically in the last ten years,” said Kerry. “In the last twenty years, the use of communication devices has skyrocketed, making them cheaper, faster, and more accessible than ever. Cellphones are no longer executive perks or luxury items, and an antiquated tax code shouldn’t treat them that way any more.”
The measure would overturn an Internal Revenue Service requirement that employers maintain detailed logs of mobile phone and wireless device use to demonstrate the devices are used for business purposes more than 50% of the time.
A companion bill in the House is cosponsored by Reps. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.)
“Wireless communication has come a long way since 1989, moving from rare usage to an everyday business necessity, but our tax code has not kept pace,” said Ensign. “Today’s wireless devices are smaller, cheaper and offer much better service, yet our tax code remains as cumbersome as some of the first cellphones. The outdated tax code creates a needless and bulky burden on businesses and employees using wireless devices, and our bill would bring the law up-to-date to reflect the broad use of wireless communication today.”