FCC Wants VoIP Users to Pay Tax, Too

The FCC will likely force Internet telephone, or VoIP, providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, a program that helps subsidize telecommunications services in high-cost regions of the country, and in schools and libraries.

The comments came from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who spoke Wednesday in Washington at a question and answer session hosted by Comptel, a group that represents communications service providers.

Some VoIP companies are already contributing to the fund either directly through payment to the USF, or indirectly by payments to the telephone companies, which in turn contribute a portion of that revenue to the fund.

Regulators say that without a clear policy, as VoIP gains popularity the fund could shrink due to the fact that providers aren't mandated to contribute.

It's not clear if the policy would only include VoIP providers like Vonage, or also software-based offerings from companies like Skype, Yahoo and Microsoft. However, Martin did say that the government needed "to move to collection for the Universal Service Fund that is technology-neutral," possibly suggesting these services could be taxed as well.

In any case, the change must first start with Congress, Martin said. Legislators are currently considering a revision of the 1996 telecommunications bill that would add a provision to mandate payment to the USF from VoIP providers.

Various versions of the revision are expected to be debated in Congress next year.