This is not true, it is a hoax.

See this site on the web:  http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/emailtax.html

-Carol



Dave Fischer wrote:

> >>Subject: Paying for E-Mail
> >>
> >>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 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.
>
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