Summary:  On July 7, 2009, the Committee on Taxation (“COT”) of Financial Executives International ("FEI") sent a letter to Douglas H. Shulman, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service.  The letter noted COT’s support for the elimination of the tax consequences of the personal use of work-related devices such as cell phones provided by employers and commended IRS and Treasury efforts to urge Congress to pass legislation that will eliminate uncertainty of the tax treatment for both businesses and individuals. 

Specifically, the letter stated, “Use of handheld devices such as cellular phones and similar mobile devices has become engrained in daily business life and the cost of any incremental non-business use has come down significantly in recent years. Taxing employees’ personal use of these devices would impose a burden on employers far out of proportion to any incremental tax collected. We strongly agree with you that the tax treatment of these critical business tools should be updated to the modern world.”

• Commissioner Shulman Letter Cell Use Tax