Want to pay less tax on your billl???!!!

[DougTheChug]

I stumbled across this somehow and could not find any posts about it on here so i will go ahead and post it.

How To Duck Cell Phone Taxes (http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html)

looks like all you have to do is change you billing address to an address in nevada(they have the lowest tax rate) and then opt for paperless billing. Your taxees are dtermined by the state you live in. I live in mn and will be saving about 7% on tax every month.....woo hoo!!!

[rennyn]

Except when some nasty person makes changes to your account without your authorization and they send confirmation to your fake address you will be stuck with those changes. Whee!

[DougTheChug]

well it looks like nevada power (http://www.nevadapower.com/contact/) will be getting any of those letters.

[bearxor]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.

[JSMZ]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.
:haha: yeah right...Ive been out of my calling area since last November. And believe me sprint knows it too. I spent alot of time on the phone with them around March & April. :wavey:

[Radical-J]

:haha: yeah right...Ive been out of my calling area since last November. And believe me sprint knows it too. I spent alot of time on the phone with them around March & April. :wavey:


Me too!

[amesbear]

I moved 1700 miles from where I got my Sprint service and they haven't said a thing.

[Z_is_Me]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.

I have a friend who got his sprint phone while doing his MBA in Austin, Texas... He now has lived in Manhatten for the past 5 yrs still with his Austin phone number. He has never been contacted to change his number.

[bearxor]

So I take it that is an unenforced rule then?

[old dirty gecko]

I moved 1700 miles from where I got my Sprint service and they haven't said a thing.

I moved 100 miles farther than that and I've been here for a year and a half. Sprint knows I'm out here too. They don't care.

[jerereyn205]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.

My mom has had her CA number for 2 years living in Atlanta. I've been living in WA on and off for the last 3 months and I've also lived in Atlanta in the last 2 years. No one has said anything

[Wayne 1]

Interesting thread, amazing what people think of, isn't is? :lol:

[YPG]

but then you will no longer be able to pay your bill with your credit card because your card zip has to match your billing zip...

[Ktixx]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.
Sorry Proving this wrong once again - I have a CT # but live in VA and have been doing so for almost 2 years. I have even changed my billing address to reflect a virginia address. The only thing sprint does is charge you $1 extra per month for 911 call service.
But here is a question for you - I travel about 60% of the time for business all over the country. Which means that 60% of my calls are comming from different states - do you really think when 10% of my calls come from the mid west that sprint is going to tell me that I have to change my number to the midwest? - of course not

[HPLouis]

I've got a question. If a person does this and changes to paperless billing, how will you pay your cell phone bill? Don't you have to pay online with paperless billing? Doesn't the credit card biling address have to match the billing address on record at Sprint?

Thanks,
Henry

[sprintisgood]

well - i worked out a slightly better way of paying less taxes - i prepay the bill before the bill gets generated - that way - sprint only looks at the (total credits - total debits) to compute the tax on - so if i regularly have a bill of $70 - and i prepay before the due date something like $50 dollars - then i get charged only tax on something $17 (as the $70 bill includes tax tooo ).... so that way - i end up paying only $53 ....
granted i pay in 2 installments everymonth - but if i setup my first payment to be on automatic payment - i wont bother abt it - second payment i pay like i regularly do....

no changing of address... no cheating of govt.... no lots of taxes.. staight up sprint jack...... :deal:

[bearxor]

Hey guys, listen, you don't have to beat up on me and insult me just because I'm reading what is in Sprint's TOS. If they choose not to enforce it, then good. I've never done it so I don't know.

And you:
But here is a question for you - I travel about 60% of the time for business all over the country. Which means that 60% of my calls are comming from different states - do you really think when 10% of my calls come from the mid west that sprint is going to tell me that I have to change my number to the midwest? - of course not
Have just misunderstood it. It states that 10% of your calls within a three month period must come from your home area. Not that if you make 10% of your calls from an area you need to change your number to that area. If you made 90% of your calls outside of VA and 10% within you would be in compliance.

I suspect that if a lot of people start doing this, Sprint will enforce this part of their policy.

[Wayne 1]

I moved 1700 miles from where I got my Sprint service and they haven't said a thing.


Hey Stillwater, home of Oklahoma State University! :haha: :music:

[JSMZ]

but then you will no longer be able to pay your bill with your credit card because your card zip has to match your billing zip...

hey semp...It may sound funny...but I use other peoples credit/ debit cards ( who owe me money :p ) to pay my bill every month, and they are no where even close to my billing zip. EDIT: my number is from 50309 zip, 515 area code.... my address is in 51537 zip, 712 area code, and the credit/ debit cards are from 68008 zip, 402 area code END EDIT
But yeah..Id love to change my number so I could have a local number... this long didtance number sux... But thing is, Ive got a plan I really like, and every time Ive talked to anyone at sprint about changing my number, they say if I change my number Ill lose my plan. :irked:

[lennyj17]

Yup, I live in Philadelphia and use my cousin address in Delaware to save on taxes, been doing this for 6 months now and cousin has never said anything of receiving a piece of my mail..Let me tell ya the difference between PA and DE taxes are like night and day, and i can really tell having 7lines on one bill i save about 25$ in taxes NO JOKE, PA and NY are the worst of the North East.

A Good Friend of mine in Queens has a PR Phone # to have the 5$ free incoming option on his 2000/85$ plan after i told him what i found out here, and Sprint has never said a word in a year.

[William83]

Wirelessly posted (A920: Samsung-SPHA900 AU-MIC-A900/2.0 MMP/2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

well - i worked out a slightly better way of paying less taxes - i prepay the bill before the bill gets generated - that way - sprint only looks at the (total credits - total debits) to compute the tax on - so if i regularly have a bill of $70 - and i prepay before the due date something like $50 dollars - then i get charged only tax on something $17 (as the $70 bill includes tax tooo ).... so that way - i end up paying only $53 ....
granted i pay in 2 installments everymonth - but if i setup my first payment to be on automatic payment - i wont bother abt it - second payment i pay like i regularly do....

no changing of address... no cheating of govt.... no lots of taxes.. staight up sprint jack...... :deal:

Are you sure this works? If I zero or negative balance, I don't pay tax at all. It is hard to believe.

[fl00d_pr0z]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.

Not true, I work out of state and am away from "home" for months and have never had a problem.

[cliffr39]

I finally did a change of address with my line from GA to NY and taxes only went up by $.85 to $1.00

For the last 6 months I had my GA number/address on file and was still able to make my payments online with my visa/debit card with no problems having different addresses/zip codes. Then I went online to change my mailing address to NY and it didn't change my number or my computed taxes until I actually called them to do a market change for a new number... For what its worth

[SmplyD]

doing this your only defrauding the government not Sprint. So by all means cheat your own government and wonder why your health cares your drug plans suck and why you envy Canada. Thx for listening and have a good day
:lmao: Oh my god are you serious??

If our government didn't spend 110 million dollars on an Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere," along with hundreds of other pork laden, wasteful spending - then they might be in a better position to offer government services that are worth a damn for someone.

[KJ78]

Sprint hasn't forced me to change in years. I've been sharing a line with a friend who has moved from Denver, where he was when the account was setup, to Idaho and now to Iowa. I live in the People's Republic of Chicago where phone taxes are absolutely rediculous. Sprint keeps sending my bill to Denver even though only a handful of calls every year are ever made from that area. Oddly, I've tried to update the billing address to Idaho and now Iowa to allow my friend to pay his portion online but the bill keeps getting generated for Denver but the Sprint reps swear my billing address is Iowa.

[YPG]

hey semp...It may sound funny...but I use other peoples credit/ debit cards ( who owe me money :p ) to pay my bill every month, and they are no where even close to my billing zip. EDIT: my number is from 50309 zip, 515 area code.... my address is in 51537 zip, 712 area code, and the credit/ debit cards are from 68008 zip, 402 area code END EDIT
But yeah..Id love to change my number so I could have a local number... this long didtance number sux... But thing is, Ive got a plan I really like, and every time Ive talked to anyone at sprint about changing my number, they say if I change my number Ill lose my plan. :irked:

oh I know you can get it done because I am never the one paying My bill, lol
but for the average customer, they run into problems if their billing address does not match their card address

[endless4105]

quit your crying, everyone is sick of reading your nonsense :bang:

EDIT: Everything you perceive to be fraud, is not. FYI... Im paying higher taxes by not changing my number. Tell me how that is screwing my government. envy Canada... get real :lol:


Agreed! Stop trying to sound like you know what your saying. I can see right through it

[CSWORKER]

Yeah, this isn't actually going to work...

I know Sprint has it, and I'm sure other carriers do as well, that if at least 10% of your calls over a three month period are not from your home area, they require you to change your phone number.


Incorrect info...Sprint does not do that

[Punjaban]

canada...oh canada....who really cares?

I cant beleive that Im paying almost 22% in cell phone taxes, the 3rd highest, and thought it was normal. The government always finds a way to get a hold on some of your money.

[reemusk]

this is illegal as all hell by the way.

[rolla88]

Your taxees are dtermined by the state you live in.

dont think so...according to the article you linked, its determined by your area code. this is true b/c i have a NJ number (had it for 8 years so for sentimental reasons, i've kept it), live in NYC, and have my PAPER bill go to FL, yet i pay NJ taxes. honestly, i think sprint just wants your money. they dont care about matching billing addresses and such...just pay the monthly bill and thats it.

[DougTheChug]

dont think so...according to the article you linked, its determined by your area code. this is true b/c i have a NJ number (had it for 8 years so for sentimental reasons, i've kept it), live in NYC, and have my PAPER bill go to FL, yet i pay NJ taxes. honestly, i think sprint just wants your money. they dont care about matching billing addresses and such...just pay the monthly bill and thats it.

Ummmm....yeah about thatVerizon Wireless appears to be alone in relying on area codes--Nextel Communications (nasdaq: NXTL - news - people ) and Sprint (nyse: FON - news - people ), presently in the midst of a merger, say they assess taxes based on billing addresses, an equally crude proxy.

[rolla88]

Ummmm....yeah about that


eh, whatever...i know what i pay every month :clap:

[rmship]

It's a thin line

[jumonjii]

You could always set up a mailbox in Nevada if it makes you feel better.

[mmace1]

If anyone's still feeling like a weenie about doing this...here's a link to an article in Forbes Magazine suggesting this very thing

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html

[DjDynasty]

You can call *2 and tell them the online payment isn't working, they credit the $5.00 payment fee that would otherwise occur. I have my "Physical & Coverage" address set to Vegas, but my mailing address 'So my parents get copies of my bills so they can pay them for me out of the trust I have" is sent to my house. NO paperless in anyway!

I should also note the person who said it's illegal. Who really cares? Seriouslly I don't believe in taxation without representation, and until my partner and I can file joint tax returns, I have more money hidden in charities, and fictional churches, than the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

being a person who is also dual citizen of Canada & the US. I was born here, but choose to pay my yearly income taxes to Canada, because I can do joint forms there.

I just want to get married, would sell my soul to do it, although most straight married men here will look at me and ask why.

[rolla88]

You can call *2 and tell them the online payment isn't working, they credit the $5.00 payment fee that would otherwise occur. I have my "Physical & Coverage" address set to Vegas, but my mailing address 'So my parents get copies of my bills so they can pay them for me out of the trust I have" is sent to my house. NO paperless in anyway!

I should also note the person who said it's illegal. Who really cares? Seriouslly I don't believe in taxation without representation, and until my partner and I can file joint tax returns, I have more money hidden in charities, and fictional churches, than the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

being a person who is also dual citizen of Canada & the US. I was born here, but choose to pay my yearly income taxes to Canada, because I can do joint forms there.

I just want to get married, would sell my soul to do it, although most straight married men here will look at me and ask why.


i understand your frustration...i think gay people should be allowed to marry. good luck to you!

[Sprint Know It All]

Let me say this.
1) the article states that was how/may still be how NEXTEL (i dont work on the nextel side but i do on sprint's side of the network) is taxed. in saying that, sprint taxes u strictly on what your coverage address is (what area code, coverage address u have given them). so if u did this on sprint's side, u would get a nevada #.

2) as far as this being ethical or legal, think about this. if someone uses a corporation as a way to control the way their taxes are paid, is that legal? yes it is. for those of your who dont know, corporations are taxed differently than employees are. corporations, llc's (limited liability companies), and other entities are taxed differently and have other asset protection rules than sole proprietors and employess. the rich have used these for decades to protect their assets and pay less taxes. thats why u see all big companies are corporations or llc's of some type. i will leave the wealth education for another time but that is just an example. if u have a corporation that makes $100,000 what happens is that corporation gets to spend money on "expenses" and then they are taxed on what's left over. so lets say that corporation has $80,000 in expenses, the corporation is ONLY taxed on the remaining $20,000 not bad. if u as an employee/sole proprietor has a $100,000 a year job, before u get your paychecks, you are taxed on the FULL $100,000 before you get a dime! Think about it.

3) even the supreme court thinks this way, Justice Learned Hand once wrote, “Anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.” Basically what the man is saying is that u have the right to determine how much tax you pay as long as u go about it in a legal manner. the government shouldn't tell u which ways you should decide to pay your taxes. yes they set the rules, but as long as u play within the rules, you have a right to limit the amount of taxes that u should legally pay. im not saying to tax avoid at all, what i'm saying is that u should set yourself up to pay as few taxes as legally possible. i know alot about this and if u want some details about wealth building, real estate, asset/ wills, etc send me a pm.

Ask your cpa about corporations if u are in or thinking about getting into some type of business.

[mmace1]

Let me say this.
if u have a corporation that makes $100,000 what happens is that corporation gets to spend money on "expenses" and then they are taxed on what's left over. so lets say that corporation has $80,000 in expenses, the corporation is ONLY taxed on the remaining $20,000 not bad. if u as an employee/sole proprietor has a $100,000 a year job, before u get your paychecks, you are taxed on the FULL $100,000 before you get a dime! Think about it.


Well...sole propietorships get to claim expenses too, as does every form of business. Simplistically, when a company says they "made $100,000", that means their revenue <i>-- expenses</I> = $100,000

Corporations (in reality, what are casually referred to as corporations are usually "C-Corporation") typically pay more taxes than a sole propietorship.

That because C-Corpirations net income is taxed (the $100,000), then when the corporation distributes wealth to the owners via capital gains or dividends, that money is taxed <i>again</i> via personal income tax.

The sole propietor only has to pay the personal income tax.

The reason people go for sole propietorships is <i>relatively low taxes</i>
and ease/cost of set-up.

The reason people go for C-Corps is limited liability and the ability to raise a lot of money quickly via investors

The reason people go for LLC is limited liability, combined with the tax advantages of a sole propietorship. But, without looking it up, *I think* its harder to raise capital as a LLC because they're limited in how many shareholders (that is, owners) it can have, so its usually best for smaller businesses.

[Sprint Know It All]

Well...sole propietorships get to claim expenses too, as does every form of business. Simplistically, when a company says they "made $100,000", that means their revenue <i>-- expenses</I> = $100,000

Corporations (in reality, what are casually referred to as corporations are usually "C-Corporation") typically pay more taxes than a sole propietorship.

That because C-Corpirations net income is taxed (the $100,000), then when the corporation distributes wealth to the owners via capital gains or dividends, that money is taxed <i>again</i> via personal income tax.

The sole propietor only has to pay the personal income tax.

The reason people go for sole propietorships is <i>relatively low taxes</i>
and ease/cost of set-up.

The reason people go for C-Corps is limited liability and the ability to raise a lot of money quickly via investors

The reason people go for LLC is limited liability, combined with the tax advantages of a sole propietorship. But, without looking it up, *I think* its harder to raise capital as a LLC because they're limited in how many shareholders (that is, owners) it can have, so its usually best for smaller businesses.

1) i think that u are confused. the $100,000 was gross not net.
2) most businesses are setup as sole proprietorships because of the ease of getting it setup but u have no control of how u are taxed or asset protection like a c-corp, s-corp,llc, lp, etc.
3) sole proprietorships are the worst entity to setup besides of a general partnership because of this.

[alexm]

Maybe I should change my physical address to NJ and ask them to change my taxes while "my parents" getting the physical bill in NY.

[mmace1]

This could get ff-topic for too long, but its a slow thread any way...:)

1) i think that u are confused. the $100,000 was gross not net.

Right, I agree that if a corporation has $100,000 gross they then claim expenses to get to their lower taxable income. But how is this different from a sole propietorship? They can do that too, or am I misundestanding what you mean?


2) most businesses are setup as sole proprietorships because of the ease of getting it setup <b>but u have no control of how u are taxed or asset protection like a c-corp, s-corp,llc, lp, etc.</b>


How so?

[Boraxo]

this is illegal as all hell by the way.

What is the basis for this statement? There is no law that requires you to use a certain billing address. Many people live at 1 address and get their mail at a PO box.

As for Sprint requiring you to change #s that is complete nonsense. I have a friend who has had a Houston # for many years even though he has been in DC for 5 years. Still has the same #.

BTW, you may not even have to change states. I used to pay some ridiculous San Francisco tax of $8/mo until I changed the billing address to my wife's office in the next county. Now we pay only CA and federal taxes and "fees" which still add up but not as much.

Sprint doesn't really care - they just pass on the tax bill. So if your greedy city is trying to screw you with taxes, tell them to shove it!

[Sprint Know It All]

This could get ff-topic for too long, but its a slow thread any way...:)


Right, I agree that if a corporation has $100,000 gross they then claim expenses to get to their lower taxable income. But how is this different from a sole propietorship? They can do that too, or am I misundestanding what you mean?



How so?


sole proprietorships get to deduct business expenses as well but they are still taxed as employees. corporations aren't.

c-corps can choose what day their tax year ends. it doesn't have to be dec 31st. this helps them avoid the double taxation when dividends are paid.

[sewinglady]

I've never had a customer asked to change their phone number. But you are taxed on where your number is based as well as your billing address. Changing your billing address doubles your taxes.

[JSMZ]

I've never had a customer asked to change their phone number. But you are taxed on where your number is based as well as your billing address. Changing your billing address doubles your taxes.
Thats BS...quit misinforming people here. :bang: :bang:

[bearxor]

What is the basis for this statement?
Tax evasion is illegal.
There is no law that requires you to use a certain billing address. Many people live at 1 address and get their mail at a PO box.
Most likely, that PO Box is not halfway across the country
As for Sprint requiring you to change #s that is complete nonsense. I have a friend who has had a Houston # for many years even though he has been in DC for 5 years. Still has the same #.
Did you read the thread? We've been over this. The clause is (or was the last time I read it) in Sprint's TOS. If they choose not to enforce then fine.
BTW, you may not even have to change states. I used to pay some ridiculous San Francisco tax of $8/mo until I changed the billing address to my wife's office in the next county. Now we pay only CA and federal taxes and "fees" which still add up but not as much.

Sprint doesn't really care - they just pass on the tax bill. So if your greedy city is trying to screw you with taxes, tell them to shove it!
It's still called tax evasion, and it's still illegal. Just like pirating music, no matter how people try their best to justify it, it's still illegal.

[mmace1]

It's still called tax evasion, and it's still illegal. Just like pirating music, no matter how people try their best to justify it, it's still illegal.

lol...yeah, I love how people make excuses for pirating music just because they really, really want to pirate it!

"blah blah, I really buy more music this way cuz I get to sample it first, blah blah" - yeah, like its your call to make! I think typically the owner of propery gets to decide if they want to let you have it for free...regardless of whether or not YOU think it's in the owner's best interest.

Then there's me, I think its stealing, but at the same time am OK with that, because I too, really, really want to pirate it!

But I digress - this whole thing is a form of tax evasion, I think, but I don't think it'd be enforced (especially since the idea was published in Fortune magazine).

[Boraxo]

Tax evasion is illegal.


Tax evasion is illegal. Tax avoidance is not illegal. If you don't know the difference consult a lawyer.

There is no law that requires you to use a specific address as your billing address. It is not illegal to change your billing address.

If you choose to pay higher taxes by using an address in a jurisdiction that has high taxes, that is your choice. But don't try to scare people by throwing around terms such as "illegal" when they are not appropriate.

Music downloading has nothing to do with this topic. Stealing candy bars is also illegal and has nothing to do with cellphone billing.

[Kfra315]

Hey guys. I have a NY number and moved to Missouri in January 2004. I've never had a problem and I actually payed Missouri taxes while I still had my NY mailing address for a few months.