It turns out that the proposed tax is based on the text messaging service you subscribe to, not on the messages you send.
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The proposed fee wouldn't be imposed on a per-message basis. Instead, it would be an added surcharge based on what kind of texting service a user pays for.
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Also, the FCC has classified texting as an information service, not a communications service. As such, texting cannot be taxed without FCC approval. The FCC has authority here because some unknown percentage of texts are sent interstate.
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The FCC has explicitly stated that "revenues from information services...have never been included in the contribution base," and states may surcharge information service revenues only if the FCC has specifically authorized such surcharges and prescribed a jurisdictional allocation methodology for the service at issue. Because text messaging is an information service as to which the FCC has never authorized state surcharges nor prescribed an allocation methodology, the surcharges contemplated...are contrary to federal law.
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http://reason.com/blog/2018/12/13/ca...t-to-tax-texts
