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After you get past the clickbaity headline, it doesn't seem THAT controversial.

The tax "would be billed as a flat surcharge per customer — one of those irksome fees at the bottom of your wireless bill — not a fee per text".

It would "help support programs that make phone service accessible to the poor".

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Slap a business tax on the telecoms and they can get tax credits for providing discounted phones to poor people. Seems inefficient to have people pay taxes to a phone company who then gives it to the state who then gives back to the phone company.

It has to be done this way so everyone involved gets to grab a little of the vig.

That's still dumb though. Why not start slapping taxes on every service to pay for that service for the poor? Uber eats must include a food delivery for the poor tax. Gas must include a gas for the poor tax. This is what leads to the insanity that is our tax system.

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