Don, Take a look at : http://www.stiller.com/inttax.htm This has been going around for quite a while ... Kevin O Don Harrop wrote: > > I know this is way off topic but I'd like to find out if anyone else knows > any validity behind this email I got. This can't be true... If it is it's > time for a revolution against our greedy government! > > Don > > I 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 > analarming 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 efficiency. 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. > > One 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. > > ________________________________________________ > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > Plug-discuss mailing list - Plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- Kevin O'Connor The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses. -- Francis Bacon