• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
Tech

How Trump Is Handing AT&T, Verizon and Comcast A Double Win

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 26, 2017, 6:07 PM ET
President Trump Participates In Roundtable With Women Small Business Owners
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 27: U.S. President Donald Trump smiles while meeting with women small business owners in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Investors on Monday further unwound trades initiated in November resting on the idea that the election of Trump and a Republican Congress meant smooth passage of an agenda that featured business-friendly tax cuts and regulatory changes. (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)Pool Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Trump administration proposed plans giving two big wins to the nation’s largest communications companies on Wednesday.

Early in the day, the President proposed tax cuts that would make AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast among the biggest winners of his plan. Later, his appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission proposed lifting so-called net neutrality rules that put limits on Internet service providers.

At least that’s what’s been announced so far.

The tax plan, which was offered in a bare bones summary, would slash the corporate rate to 15% from 35%. While many companies in the technology and pharmaceutical industries are able to shield profits from the corporate tax by stashing them overseas, thus making their own reported profits look larger, communications services companies that mainly operate domestically have no place to hide and their reported profits look smaller.

For example, Google reported last year owing $4.7 billion in taxes on $24.2 billion of pre-tax profits, a rate of 19%, and Merck (MRK) paid $718 million on $4.7 billion, or about 15%. By contrast, AT&T reported paying $6.5 billion on $19.8 billion of pre-tax income, or a rate of 33%, Verizon paid $7.4 billion on $21 billion, or 35%, and Comcast paid $5.3 billion on $14.4 billion, a rate of 37%.

Tech, pharma, and other industries that used the overseas tax strategy do get a proposed one-time benefit from Trump’s plan, with a promise to let them bring home the accumulated cash at a new low rate. But they don’t benefit over the long term from the corporate rate being slashed from 35%, since they already pay much less than that annually.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Congress must approve the plan, of course, and that could be a major hurdle. The plan mentions, without any detail, doing away with most tax breaks and deductions, and could cause the deficit to skyrocket.

On net neutrality, Ajit Pai, the FCC’s chairman, unveiled his plans for killing net neutrality rules enacted during the Obama administration—or at least part of his plan.

The 2015 rules prevent Internet service providers from blocking, slowing or otherwise discriminating against web sites and online services. That’s meant to prevent a company like Verizon from demanding extra payments from a popular online service like Spotify that is trying to reach customers on Verizon’s network. It’s also to stop a company like Comcast from protecting one of its other businesses, like cable TV, from online competitors such as Google (GOOGL) YouTube TV by making video load more slowly or subjecting the streams to data caps.

The rules also designated the ISPs as “common carriers” like telephone companies, opening them to a host of additional regulations by the agency. That was because courts had struck down two earlier versions of the rules that didn’t make that designation, saying the FCC otherwise lacked authority to impose the limits. Obama-appointed FCC chairman Tom Wheeler used the additional common carrier authority to impose strict privacy rules on the Internet service providers, though Pai’s Republican allies in Congress have already killed that policy.

On Wednesday, Pai offered only half a plan for how he will proceed. The common carrier designation will be revoked, he said. As to how the FCC should proceed in actually protecting net neutrality and enforcing the no blocking, slowing or discriminating principles? Pai said he would seek public comment. Given the prior court rulings, it’s unclear how the agency could impose the rules without relying on its common carrier authority. Democrats are already threatening to sue to block Pai’s plans.

That means that once again AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), and Comcast (CMCSA) are lined up to be the winners if Pai’s plans go through, after they are freed of the FCC’s powerful authority to regulate and oversee common carriers. And there is no plan yet offered to limit their ability to favor their own content, disfavor smaller companies they compete with or seek extra charges from popular online sites and services that want to reach their Internet subscribers.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

camera
Arts & EntertainmentGen Z
Gen Z’s analog obsession is reviving a film camera market that digital killed
By Rotem Rozental and The ConversationJuly 14, 2026
2 hours ago
How Adobe’s CMO is preparing for the AI-powered era of brand discovery
C-SuiteCMO
How Adobe’s CMO is preparing for the AI-powered era of brand discovery
By Ruth UmohJuly 14, 2026
2 hours ago
infra
EnergyData centers
Data centers have already hiked electricity prices on the public by $23 billion. Good luck clawing that back
By Theodore J. Kury and The ConversationJuly 14, 2026
2 hours ago
Jony Ive (left), formerly with Apple and now with OpenAI, standing next to Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, at an event in 2022.
AIOpenAI
Stolen laptops, data breaches, secret moles, and recruiting-as-espionage. Here are the wildest claims in Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI
By Emily ForliniJuly 13, 2026
13 hours ago
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are accusing each other of scamming investors as SpaceX and OpenAI jockey to lead AI revolution
AIBillionaires
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are accusing each other of scamming investors as SpaceX and OpenAI jockey to lead AI revolution
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 13, 2026
13 hours ago
u
PoliticsSocial Media
Europe to social media platforms: make yourself safe for kids under 13, somehow
By Lorne Cook, Kelvin Chan and The Associated PressJuly 13, 2026
16 hours ago

Most Popular

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
Innovation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
23 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
23 hours ago
Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink
Personal Finance
Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink
By Brianna Sosa and BloombergJuly 12, 2026
2 days ago
How Pete Hegseth's DEI order just put Scouting America's future at stake
North America
How Pete Hegseth's DEI order just put Scouting America's future at stake
By Seth T. Kannarr, Derek H. Alderman and The ConversationJuly 13, 2026
14 hours ago
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
Middle East
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
By Jason MaJuly 11, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.