Technological advances have blurred the line between phone and cable service providers - in this case, Qwest Communications and Comcast. Both now offer a similar array of phone, cable and Internet services.

However, in Utah, the two sprawling businesses get taxed differently, with Qwest centrally assessed by the state, while Comcast is locally assessed county by county.

Qwest objects and wants cable providers to be classified with other centrally assessed properties. It seeks either a legislative fix or a rule change via the state Tax Commission.

In a June 27 petition filed with the Tax Commission, Qwest claims economic disadvantage due to inequitable tax treatment.

Commissioners heard preliminary input on the issue this past week but left a decision for the days ahead.

Leave the matter to legislators, said an Aug. 8 letter to the Tax Commission from Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble and Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, Senate chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Committee.

"The rule change proposed by Qwest, which is the same issue addressed by HB367, involves significant policy issues. We therefore prefer that this be addressed by the Legislature," the letter said.

Rep. Wayne Harper sponsored HB367 during the 2008 session, where it failed to come up for a vote.

"Qwest and Comcast said it's a huge issue. No one knew the fiscal impact," Harper said. "I left the bill . . . to die so that further research could be done."

Comcast opposes the change.

"I think it's detrimental in a number of ways," said Comcast spokesman Ray Child. "We have franchise agreements with every city we serve" - and some Utah counties as well.

Those agreements help pad municipal budgets and allow for local control and input. They also result in monthly fees billed to customers.

The two companies function differently, said Child, pointing out that Qwest provides circuit-switched phone service while Comcast's comes via the Internet.

"So we're not subject to Public Service Commission oversight," Child said. "The main governing body for switch-circuit phone service does not consider us in the same category."

That's not the issue, said Qwest spokeswoman Johnna Hoff.

"We're really talking about parity," Hoff said. "We both provide two-way communications across county lines, and that similarity drives our request."

No one seems to know the actual financial impact such a shift would cause.

"The implication is that centrally assessed is going to cost Comcast some money - and taxes get passed on to the customer," Niederhauser said.

For that reason, Utah Coalition de La Raza opposes the change.

"Almost everyone has a TV," said Robert Archuleta, president of Utah La Raza's board of trustees. "People that are poor would bear the brunt of that."

In an Aug. 12 letter to the Tax Commission, the Utah League of Cities and Towns sided with Bramble and Niederhauser due to concerns about local franchising authority.

"Simply put: If there is to be a structural change, it must come through the legislative process and not administrative actions," the letter concluded.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com