‘Americans Want to Know: What’s With the $5 Billion FCC TV Tax?’...
“Americans Want to Know: What’s With the $5 Billion FCC TV Tax?” So read headline in ads CEA placed Mon. in Washington Post and Roll Call newspapers that declared FCC “wants to force Americans to buy over-the-air digital tuners…
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in all television sets, whether they will be used or not.” Ads were placed in anticipation of Aug. 8 FCC meeting at which proposal could well be introduced to issue rulemaking mandating DTV tuners. CEA, which vehemently opposes tuner mandates, said in ad that forcing consumers to buy digital tuner in every TV “will raise the average price of a TV set by more than $250.” Ad said cost would amount to $5 billion annual TV tax on consumers, based on 28 million TV sets sold per year. Mandatory inclusion of digital tuner “would double or triple the retail price of the 40% of TVs sold that are 20” or less,” ad said. CEA has said it will use all legal means necessary to challenge FCC’s jurisdiction to set tuner mandates, including seeking possible injunction through U.S. Appeals Court. CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro said group’s executive committee, meeting last week in Chicago, voted unanimously to authorize such action if necessary.