AT&T texts customers regarding class action tax settlement

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) sent customers a text message Thursday notifying them that they may be entitled to get benefits from a proposed class action settlement. The settlement stems from allegations brought against AT&T earlier this year that the carrier improperly levied taxes against customers on mobile Internet access fees.

In two separate suits, filed in federal court in January in Georgia and Indiana, customers alleged AT&T taxed the mobile data portion of their bill when it shouldn't. The suits, which were transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, alleged AT&T violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bars state and local governments from levying taxes on Internet access between Nov. 1, 2003 and Nov. 1, 2014.

AT&T's message Thursday directed subscribers to a website with more information about the case, including details about a court hearing set for March 10, 2011. AT&T did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the proposed settlement, but agreed to stop charging the taxes if the court approves the deal.

The case, of course, is not the first time a wireless carrier has faced questions over billing and tax issues. AT&T and most of the rest of the wireless carrier community have had to address, and in some cases modify, various state and local tax charges and billing efforts.

For more:
- see this IDG News Service article

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