Whom do you blame when monthly utility charges go up – for electricity, gas, phone, cable, etc.? The companies providing the services, right?
That seems like a logical conclusion, if hasty and possibly erroneous. Possibly erroneous, because sometimes the fee hikes are the result of extra costs imposed by local, state, and federal authorities.
They’re hidden taxes that the utilities are compelled to collect without compensation for their collection services – unless the cost of collection is passed on to customers.
Needless to say, what public officials crave most of all are revenue sources not subject to voter approval. They’re always on the lookout for ways to raise taxes without incurring the wrath of taxpayers, and saddling someone else with the blame, however unfairly, is a good way to do it.
So, here’s a heads-up: Texans who find themselves paying more for video streaming services in the near future should direct their ire not at the companies providing those services, but at the local governments that coerced them to include hidden taxes in their monthly bills.
The ever-growing number of municipalities resorting to this time-honored tradition now includes Abilene and Sugarland. Both cities submitted contingent fee agreements to the Office of the Attorney General last month, hoping to receive approval for their bids to sue Netflix, Hulu, Disney, and other streamers over franchise fees.
Other Texas cities seeking to sue streamers include Mesquite, Dallas, Plano, Waco, Carrollton, Frisco, and Garland, all represented by the same three law firms: Ashcroft Sutton Reyes, McKool Smith, and Korein Tillery.
The cities want the three firms to represent them in suits against video service providers (VSPs) for their failure to pay the municipalities five percent of their gross revenues, as allegedly required by the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act. The act has long been enforced against cable companies but has never been applied to streamers.
Municipal revenues have declined nationwide as cable customers switch to VSPs, whence the eagerness of city officials to attach a hidden tax to streaming services.