During the Spanish-American War, at the end of the 19th Century (1898!), the government instituted an excise tax on phone calls to help fund the war effort. That war is long over, but the 3% federal excise tax is still in effect, 108 years later.

Due to some recent court decisions, the tax may be ending soon. If so, you could conceivably see a drop on your telephone bills. Of course, some providers may decide to use that as an opportunity to raise prices, so your bill won’t change that much, but that remains to be seen.