No DBS tax, satellite companies urge.

Broadcasting & Cable, March, 1999 by McConnell, Bill

Satellite broadcasters urged the FCC to reject Time Warner's request that it levy a 5% fee on satellite companies' gross receipts. The cable giant on March 10 asked the FCC to impose the fee and use the proceeds to fund public broadcasting programs. Time Warner said the charge is fair because cable operators pay a 5% franchise fee to local governments.

That claim prompted an angry response from Chuck Hewitt, president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association. "Time Warner's comparison is apples to oranges," be said. Franchise fees are a cost of doing business for monopolies, while imposing a new tax on direct satellite broadcasters would discourage competition to cable, Hewitt continued. "Isn't it typical that the cable monopoly would call...

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