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Cellphone users in North Platte will soon see an increase in their bills as the City Council has passed an ordinance to extend the reach of the city’s telecommunications “occupation tax.” This revised tax will also cover wireless pagers and other types of mobile telecommunications services. The ordinance passed by a 5-3 vote, the same as in its previous rounds.

Councilmen Ed Rieker and Mark Woods and Councilwoman Donna Tryon voted against the ordinance, with Tryon stating that she had not received any requests from her constituents to tax their cellphones. Previously, the occupation tax only applied to wired landline telephones, but now it will include wireless services as well.

In addition to the cellphone tax, the City Council also approved an ordinance to raise annual occupation taxes on “games of skill” with betting capability from to 0 per machine. Taxes on other mechanical amusement devices will remain at per machine per year. The council also passed an ordinance to update city codes to reflect the changes in occupation taxes.

The revised local telecom tax will be equal to 3% of the income of providers of landlines, cellphones, pagers, and other wireless services. According to City Attorney Bill Troshynski, providers can pass the cost of the tax on to customers. The tax will be collected after applicable city sales taxes.

The decision to expand the occupation tax was made in response to a decline in revenue from the landline tax over the years. Annual city income from the landline tax has dropped significantly, from 3,514 in 2002-03 to ,016 in 2020-21. City officials attribute this decline to the increasing popularity of cellphones. Cable TV franchise fees are not part of the revisions, but they have also decreased due to the rise of online streaming.

Council President Jim Nisley, who supported the expanded telecom tax, believes that it will prevent future tax increases. Other cities in Nebraska, such as Norfolk, Fremont, Grand Island, Hastings, Columbus, and Kearney, already impose taxes on cellphones.

Despite concerns about increased costs for cellphone users, the council members believe that the tax revenue will outweigh the losses. If necessary, the tax can be adjusted in the future.

In other news, the City Council also approved financial assistance from the Quality Growth Fund for two local startups. Gourmeat Chips, a venture by Danish businessman Stig Rasmussen and Sustainable Beef LLC co-founder Trey Wasserburger, received a 0,000 small business loan and a 0,000 job creation credit. Their business aims to produce low-calorie, no-carb, sugar-free, and high-protein chips using beef products supplied by Sustainable Beef.

Overall, the changes in occupation taxes and the support for local businesses were approved during a 90-minute City Council meeting.

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