According to lawyers, millions of small businesses and low-income taxpayers will be excluded from a Bush administration tax refund program.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed by lawyers in regards to a Treasury Department plan in which the public stopped paying a 3% federal excise tax on long-distance phone calls as of July 31. The tax collected by phone service providers was levied without congressional authorization.

Taxpayers have been told that they can get the past three years of excise tax payments back by asking for the money on their 2006 tax returns. The Treasury Department estimates that $13 billion will be refunded to taxpayers.

Those that do not file tax returns will be left out of the tax rebate program. As many as 10 million households are estimated to be left out, according to a study by the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"Since I do not file a tax return, it does not seem right that I am expected to fill out a tax return because of what someone else took from me illegally," said James Gillis, 78, in a declaration in the lawsuit.

The IRS said that it is developing a "very simple, straightforward form" for low-income people to file in order to recieve the refund.

"We recognize there are many people who have no filing requirements and we want to make sure that these people get the refund they deserve," the IRS stated.

Attorneys in the lawsuit say that consumers are entitled to refunds for the past decade, not just three years. A study by the Congressional Research Service found that almost $6 billion a year has been collected from long-distance customers.

Small business that lack the time or money to collect the last three years of their phone bills will be forced to rely on an IRS formula that is likely to shortchange recipients, says Jonathan Cuneo, a lead attorney in the class-action case.

The Bush administration is seeking a dismissal of the case.