Various states have enacted legislation regarding the collection of a Business and Occupation (B&O) tax on pre-paid services by wireless providers at the point of sale. The B&O tax varies by state and is not retained by the wireless provider. The wireless provider is required to collect the B&O tax amount and remit it to the state.
No. Cricket does not charge a traditional late payment fee. However, Cricket customers who do not pay for their service on or before their designated due date run the risk of having their service suspended.
Federal, state and local governments often impose taxes, fees and surcharges on wireless carriers. Those taxes, fees and charges may vary depending on your rate plan and the particular jurisdiction in which the handset is used. The types of services that are taxed and the applicable tax rates are based upon the taxing jurisdiction assigned to your account.
The Federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act requires telecommunications companies to tax customers based on the customer's primary place of use, which must be their residential or business address that is located within Cricket's licensed service area. This address is assigned to a taxing jurisdiction based on local government boundary information.
If you have questions about the purpose of any of the taxes or fees that appear on your bill, we suggest that you call your appropriate federal, state, or local government official.
In some states, Cricket is required by the state or county government to impose a monthly charge for Enhanced 911 (E911). This fee is used to fund computer software and hardware upgrades for public safety answering points to locate a caller who dials 911. This functionality is not yet available in many states.
The Federal Universal Service Fund is a fund that was established by the U.S. government and is used to subsidize basic telephone service for people with low incomes and those who live in rural areas. It is also used to provide Internet connections, landline handsets and mobile handsets to schools and libraries. The U.S. government imposes a fee on telecommunications carriers to fund the program. In addition, some states also operate their own universal service funds, for which you may see a charge.
The Regulatory Recovery and Administrative Fee is applied to your account to recover the costs of certain government mandates and programs. The Regulatory Recovery and Administrative Fee amount may change from time-to-time as costs to comply with such state and federal programs change; the components used to calculate the regulatory and administrative fee are subject to change. This fee is applied to each line of service on an account. The Regulatory Recovery and Administrative Fee is currently $1.40 for voice service and $0.50 for broadband services.
The federal government revises the amount that companies are required to pay into the Federal USF each quarter. As a result, the amount we recover from customers may need to be adjusted on a quarterly basis.
