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Check this out for hoaxes..

Virus Hoaxes and Netlore. Designed to combat email hoaxes.
<http://www.hoaxinfo.com/>  

Taxing E-mail First Published June, 2000
Updated February, 2002



When it comes to taxes I don't trust the government at any level.  It is
easy to believe there are Congressmen who would want to tax e-mail. BUT
there is presently no tax legislation pending that would affect e-mail (as
of February, 2001).  Taxing e-mail would be an electronic and logistical
nightmare as every ISP would have to keep track of how many e-mail
communications were sent and delivered successfully.   Quite to the
contrary, President Bush signed H.R. 1552, H
<http://www.house.gov/chriscox/press/releases/2001/1128indasign.htm> ouse
Policy Chairman Christopher Cox’s Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act
<http://www.house.gov/chriscox/press/releases/2001/1128indasign.htm> , in
November of 2001 which would extend the moratorium on new Internet taxes
until November, 2003.  Since e-mail is Internet communications this act
would cover this as well.  But as for Bill 602p which is suppose to be
"pending" in Congress:  It does not exist.  If it would make you feel
better to see for yourself go ahead and search the Congressional record
<http://thomas.loc.gov/>  for bills before Congress. Not only does the
bill not exist but neither does "Congressman Tony Schnell".  Even if they
did decide to tax email the Postal Service has no authority to collect
taxes from the Internet, and they deny pushing for or wanting any such a
bill <http://www.usps.gov/news/email.htm> .  Read the latest news article
published by the Standard in February of 2000
<http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C9670%2C00.html> .
It seems this phony bill is a major headache for many in Congress. Of
course, even though this email has been circulating since at least early
1999 there does not seem to be an end in sight.  Presently it is making a
come back in the newsgroups.  It's been my experience that if it is
circulating there then it is circulating as e-mail also.  Below is the
latest version of the dreaded "e-mail tax" message: 
  I thought President Bush and Congress had settled this thing and agreed
not to consider any charges on the use of internet for the next two years.
It appears that the U.S. Postal System is pushing a bill to help to offset
their losses. Guess the warnings were true. 

Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail sent. It figures! No more free
E-mail! We knew this was coming!! Bill 602P will permit the Federal
Government to charge a 5-cent charge on every delivered E-mail. Please
read the following carefully if you intend to stay online and continue
using E-mail. 

The last few months have revealed an alarming trend in the Government of
the United States attempting to quietly push through legislation that will
affect our use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation, the US Postal
Service will be attempting to bill E-mail users out of "alternative
postage fees. "Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a
5-cent surcharge on every e-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service
Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.
Washington DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this
legislation from becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming lost
revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is costing nearly
$230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed their recent ad
campaign: "There is nothing like a letter." Since the average person
received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in 1998, the cost of the
typical individual would be an additional 50 cents a day -- or over $180
per year -- above and beyond their regular Internet costs. Note that this
would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service for a service they
do not even provide. 

The whole point of the Internet is democracy and noninterference. You are
already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic
inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered
from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is allowed to tinker with
E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in the United States.
Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a
"$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the
governments proposed E-mail charges. Note that most of the major
newspapers have ignored the story the only exception being the
Washingtonian which called the idea of E-mail surcharge "a useful concept
who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial).

Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away! Send this E-mail to
EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to write
their congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P. It will only
take a few moments of your time and could very well be instrumental in
killing a bill we do not want. 

PLEASE FORWARD! 




An Earlier Version from June 2000, notice the similarities with the latest
one:

Subject: Bad news 
We Knew this was coming!! Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to
charge a 5 cent charge on every delivered email. Please read the following
carefully if you intend to stay online and continue using E-mail: The last
few months have revealed an alarming trend in the Government of the United
States attempting to quietly push through legislation that will affect
your use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation the US Postal Service
will be attempting to bill E-mail users out of "alternate postage fees."
Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to charge a 5 cent surcharge on
every E-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source.
The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP. Washington DC lawyer
Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this legislation from
becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming that lost revenue due to
the proliferation of email is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per
year. You may have seen their recent ad campaign "There is nothing like a
letter." Since the average received about 10 pieces of e-mail per day in
1998, the cost to the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents
per day, or over $180 dollar per year, above and beyond their regular
Internet costs. Note that this would be money paid directly to the US
Postal Service for a service they do not even provide.  The whole point of
the Internet is democracy and non-interference. If the federal government
is permitted to tamper with end. You are already paying an exorbitant
price for snail mail because of bureaucratic efficiency.  It currently
takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from New York to Buffalo.
If the US Postal Service is allowed to tinker with email, it will mark the
end of the "free" Internet in the United States. One Congressman, Tony
Schnell, has even suggested a "twenty to forty dollar per month surcharge
on all Internet service" above and beyond the government's proposed email
charges.  Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story,
the only exception being the Washingtonian which called the idea of email
surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th 1999
Editorial). Don't sit by and watch your freedoms erode away.  Send this
e-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives
to write to their 
congressman and say "No!" to Bill 602P. It will only take a few moments of
your time, and could very well be instrumental in killing a bill we don't
want! 
------------------------------------- 
Kate Turner - Assistant to Richard Stepp, Gerger, Stepp and 
Gorman Attorneys at Law 
216 Concorde Street, 
Vienna, Va.

  




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