TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Satellite television companies this week asked the Florida Supreme Court to uphold a potentially far-reaching ruling against a state law that includes different tax rates for satellite and cable TV.
The 1st District Court of Appeal in June said a higher communications-services tax rate for satellite providers than cable companies violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause and is discriminatory.
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That ruling prompted an appeal to the Supreme Court by the Florida Department of Revenue and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association.
Satellite companies DIRECTV and Dish Network filed a brief Monday arguing that the Supreme Court should approve the appeals-court ruling, which ultimately could lead to the state having to pay refunds.
"At issue here is a differential tax that is a 21st century version of classic economic protectionism,'' the brief said. But the Department of Revenue in a September brief said satellite and cable services are different and, as a result, the state law doesn't violate the Commerce Clause.
"Cable and satellite providers offer different communications services using different technologies," the Department of Revenue argued.
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association have a partnership for the Capital Dateline Online news show.)