A factor that could make a big difference to the cost of VoIP solutions for small businesses is tax. In comparing plans between VoIP and regular phone providers you need to know how much tax you will be charged. At the moment the only VoIP Taxes charged on a VoIP bill in the U.S is Federal Excise Tax. This is only 3% of your bill compared to regular phone service bill which incorporates several other taxes and fees.
With the regular phone service, state and local taxes are based on where the phone call originates from. This is usually a home or business. However with VoIP the location of the caller is not always known and you are able to connect to the Internet and call from any location using the same phone number. The issue of VoIP taxation has been raised by U.S Members of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee as it is clear that technology has outpaced the rules for taxation for telephone services.
Regulation of VoIP Around the World
In some countries the introduction of VoIP solutions has prompted governments to impose restrictions on how VoIP solutions can be provided. High taxes are imposed on VoIP businesses in Panama and Columbia and Mexico only allows for existing operators to offer VoIP.
It is also strictly banned in Ethiopia, where the introduction of VoIP solutions has had a negative impact on revenue generated by the government owned telecommunications company. India has plans to allow unrestricted VoIP services but currently only the sale of long distance calling cards are allowed.
In developing countries VoIP solutions providers are a threat to existing traditional teleco companies however government restrictions only deny small businesses of the opportunity to utilize new technology and be on par with their counterparts around the world. There is a lot more information about hosted VoIP for small business and T1 business on our blogs.
