For awhile I didn't have any phone service at all. Except from my family I rarely get calls at home and local phone service was costing me upwards of $50 a month. Sure the local telco advertised $29.99, but taxes and bullshit regulatory charges were easily another $20.

So, I cut it off for a few years. Then a little over a year ago I got Vonage. They advertised $14.99 a month for limited service. The 500 minutes a month would be more than enough for my use. (I typically use anywhere between 15 and 100 minutes a month.)

But lately the bill has been creeping higher and higher. The past two months it's been $19.49, meaning 23% of my bill is taxes. Regulatory Recovery Fee: 99 cents; Emergency 911 Cost Recovery Fee: 99 cents; Federal Universal Service Fee: 92 cents; State Communications Service Tax: 85 cents; and a State 911 Fee: 75 cents.

That's $4.50 (including TWO 911 fees) on a $14.99 phone bill. An effective tax rate of over 30%. Maybe it's time to get rid of my phone again, or switch to one of the discount VoIP services.