AT&T; Must Face 28 States in Sales Tax Suit

AT&T; Corp. must face a group lawsuit over its collection of municipal sales taxes in 28 states after losing a U.S. Supreme Court appeal.

The court refused to hear AT&T;’s argument that an Oklahoma court lacks authority to rule on claims involving the other 27 states, including California and New York, that let municipalities tax long-distance phone calls.

AT&T; said the suit, which accuses the company of collecting municipal taxes from people who live outside city limits, should proceed as a case involving only Oklahoma customers.

The suit says AT&T; charged municipal taxes to customers based on postal zip codes that crossed city boundaries.