OT: Charge / tax per e-mail?

[Cipher7071]

I received this e-mail from a close friend earlier today:

Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P charges 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!

Considering that about half of what we already pay for telephone services goes to state and federal taxes and fees (examine your phone bill), if true and accurate, this measure represents another huge governmental grab for our wallets. Worth investigating?

[ February 20, 2004, 17:45: Message edited by: Cipher7071 ]

[gregebowman]

I wish it was just some wishful thinging on Congress's part, but as we all know, if Congress thinks it can get some more money in their pockets, they'll tax anything and everything. I'm still hoping this is all talk, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if e-mails get taxed. Not only by the feds, but maybe even the states and cities would want a piece of the pie. Let's hope not.

[AMF]

Isn't this an ongoing hoax?

Originally posted by gregebowman:
I wish it was just some wishful thinging on Congress's part, but as we all know, if Congress thinks it can get some more money in their pockets, they'll tax anything and everything. I'm still hoping this is all talk, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if e-mails get taxed. Not only by the feds, but maybe even the states and cities would want a piece of the pie. Let's hope not.

[Cipher7071]

We can always hope it's a hoax, but it should not be too difficult to find out whether or not the mentioned bill actually exists.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

well, if the sender was billed and not the recipient, it could cut down on spam.

personally, i don't think much of that kind of money grab, i'm just argueing.

[AMF]

Hoax!

Go here:

http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/emailtax.html

[Gryphin]

BTW:
www.urbanlegends.com
is a great site anytime you get / see something where your first reation is:
"Oh my god!!!!"
Always check their first.

[Suicide Junkie]

Even if it were real, it would be impossible to enforce without revealing all that tech the guys with the tinfoil hats fear.

[Krsqk]

Another clue would be that House bills start with HR and Senate bills start with S. I've never seen a "602P" anywhere.

*shakes head, wondering what they teach in high school civics these days*

[edit]That should be HB, not HR.

*shakes head, wondering how early Alzheimer's can start*

[ February 20, 2004, 22:25: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

[Cipher7071]

Sooooo....it was easy after all. I marked that urban legends website for future reference.