For the residents of Taxachusetts, "T" is for telephone, as well as taxes, as well as trouble. The Boston Globe thinks that taxing telecoms is a good way to solve their state's fiscal crisis. They see all those un-taxed telecommunications poles and wires as their golden goose, and point out that pending legislation would mean that tax collectors in "attentive cities and towns could capture an estimated $60 million". I like that word, capture.

What the Boston Globe fails to realize, or simply chooses not to mention, is that the resulting taxes are simply passed on to the people of Massachusetts. (Unless they think the money is going to magically fall out of the sky.) The increased tax burden will be born by either the employees in the form of lower wages and lay offs, the customers in the form of higher tax bills, or the shareholders of the company. Since they appear to want to levy the fees on public utilities such as telephone and cable companies, citizens should look for that extra "Vague Commonwealth Tax" line item on their phone bills in the coming months. As with most public utilities, the taxes are most likely to be passed on to the end user.