AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile Lose California County Tax Rate Challenge

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and other telecommunication companies’ affiliates failed to convince a California appeals court that Riverside County violated the state constitution by imposing different tax rates for their utility and non-utility property.

The California Constitution Art. XIII, Section 19 mandates that utilities “shall be subject to taxation to the same extent and in the same manner as other property” but that refers to the tax classification—property tax—instead of the same tax rate, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District held Wednesday. Section 19 doesn’t require that utility and common property be taxed at the same ...