Rest easy volks, there is no impending tax it is just an e-mail hoax:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/xemailtax.html

Thanks,
Chris Gronski
Toronto, Ontario,
'80 Westy "Pokey"
'87 Chevrolet Sprint 5-Door
'91 Pontiac Firefly Convertible

----- Original Message -----
From: "PSavage" <psavage@SABER.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2000 7:12 PM
Subject: Proposed Bill 602P/Email charge (no vw content)

> Well Volks,
> Better take a look at this.  This would certainly change the ability of
> lists like this one to continue to function.
> Please read this thru & follow up.
> Phaedra
> #########################################
>
> VOTE NO ON Bill 602P!
>
>
> 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 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 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. Our 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 to E-mail to EVERYONE on your list,
> and tell all your friends and relatives 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.
>