Community Telecable of Seattle, Inc. v. City of Seattle

136 Wash. App. 169
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 11, 2006
DocketNo. 57491-4-I
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 136 Wash. App. 169 (Community Telecable of Seattle, Inc. v. City of Seattle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Community Telecable of Seattle, Inc. v. City of Seattle, 136 Wash. App. 169 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

[172]*172¶1 This case concerns the legality of the city of Seattle’s (City) telephone utility tax as it applies to Comcast of Washington, Inc.’s, Internet transmission activities. Comcast sued the City for a refund of the tax, arguing that the tax is illegal under Washington’s Internet tax moratorium and the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, Pub. L. No. 105-277, Div. C, Title XI, 112 Stat. 2681-719 (1998) (set out in note to 47 U.S.C. § 151), amended by Pub. L. No. 107-75, § 2,115 Stat. 703 (2001), Pub. L. No. 108-435, §§ 2-6, 6A, 118 Stat. 2615 (2004) (ITFA). The trial court granted Comcast’s cross-motion for summary judgment and denied the City’s motion for summary judgment. The City appeals. We reverse because:

Coleman, J.

¶2 1. The tax is not barred by the Washington Internet tax moratorium;

¶3 2. The tax is exempt from the federal ITFA’s moratorium on taxes on Internet access under a grandfather clause; and

¶4 3. The tax is not discriminatory under the federal ITFA.

FACTS

Comcast’s Business in Seattle

¶5 Comcast owns a cable transmission network leading to many homes and businesses in Seattle. Comcast and its predecessor corporations entered into franchise agreements with the City for the right to run cable to customers in Seattle. As a result, Comcast owns a transmission system in Seattle that includes cable running to individual properties and a network of fiber optics, cables, and other equipment [173]*173to transmit between its Seattle customers and Comcast’s “head end” in Burien, Washington.

¶6 In addition to providing cable television signals over its Seattle cable network, Comcast also offers its customers the ability to use the cable network for a high-speed broadband Internet connection. The use of the cable network for this purpose began in approximately early 1998.

¶7 In September 1995, in anticipation of the use of the cable network as a connection to the Internet, Comcast’s predecessor and the City entered into a memorandum of understanding as part of cable refranchise discussions. The memorandum stated, “ [Telecommunications and Internet service shall be taxed at the City rate for telecommunications services (currently 6%).”

¶8 Comcast provides its Internet customers with a device for their home called a “cable modem” that allows its customers to use the cable network for the Internet. The actual pathway to the customer’s house for the Internet is through the same cable used for cable television service. The transmission of the Internet signal to and from the customer’s house is through a coaxial cable that leads to a pole outside the house, then through fiber optic cable to hubs in Seattle, and from there through fiber optic cable to Comcast’s head end in Burien. From Burien, the signal travels by fiber optic cable to a facility at the Westin Building in Seattle. The signal leaves the Westin Building by fiber optic cable.

¶9 Comcast’s customers receive, through the network, Internet services such as e-mail and the ability to use a browser to access web pages on the World Wide Web. Comcast has previously entered into contracts with other entities to provide Internet services to Comcast’s customers. During much of the time period at issue in this case, Comcast’s customers received Internet services from a company known as “Excite@home.” Excite@home had contracts with Comcast that allowed Excite@home to provide Internet service and all equipment necessary to provide those services other than the equipment provided by Com-[174]*174cast between the subscriber’s home and the head end in Burien. In exchange for providing this equipment and services to Comcast’s subscribers, Excite@home agreed to split certain subscriber revenues with Comcast. Comcast received 65 percent of these revenues and Excite@home received 35 percent. In effect, Comcast provided the portion of the transmission system from the subscriber’s home to the head end and Excite@home provided other infrastructure and the Internet services received by the subscribers. In November 2001, Excite@home ceased providing Internet services to Comcast’s customers. Comcast then used a variety of other entities to provide the services that Excite@home had provided.

The Tax

¶10 The City imposes a telephone utility tax on entities engaged in the business of transmitting data over a network in Seattle. Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 5.48.050(A). Under SMC 5.48.050(A), Seattle businesses must pay a tax of six percent on the revenue from that business. The SMC defines “telephone business”:

“Telephone business” means the providing by any person of access to a local telephone network, local telephone network switching service, toll service, cellular or mobile telephone service, coin telephone services, pager service or the providing of telephonic, video, data, or similar communication or transmission for hire, via a local telephone network, toll line or channel, cable, microwave, or similar communication or transmission system. The term includes cooperative or farmer line telephone companies or associations operating exchanges. The term also includes the provision of transmission to and from the site of an internet provider via a local telephone network, toll line or channel, cable, microwave, or similar communication or transmission system. “Telephone business” does not include the providing of competitive telephone service, or providing of cable television service, or other providing of broadcast services by radio or television stations.

SMC 5.30.060(C) (emphasis added).

[175]*175¶11 In addition to enacting SMC 5.48.050(A), the City amended Seattle Business Tax Rule 5-44-155(6) in 1995 to advise Internet companies that provided data transmission services that data transmission activities were subject to the telephone utility tax and that Internet services were subject to the business and occupation (B&O) service tax. The rule was repealed in 2001. The City continued to rely on the rule for guidance and placed a statement to that effect on its web site. Since prior to 1998, the City has enforced the tax code so that a company that owns transmission capability through wire, cable, microwave, or other medium is considered a telephone business under SMC 5.30.060(C) and is subject to the telephone utility tax under SMC 5.48.050. The City collected the utility tax from other companies using networks to transmit Internet services and also collected the service B&O tax from Internet service providers.

The Audit

f 12 Prior to March 15, 2002, Comcast paid the cable television tax to the City for its cable modem services revenue rather than the telephone utility tax. The City taxes cable television activities at 10 percent. In a letter dated September 20, 2000, the City instructed Comcast to report its cable modem service revenue under the telephone business classification of the utility tax rather than under the cable television tax.

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Related

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166 P.3d 667 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
136 Wash. App. 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/community-telecable-of-seattle-inc-v-city-of-seattle-washctapp-2006.