You guys do know of course that this is an April fools joke. I believe I saw it last year concerning the stimulus package. I believe I saw something like this as far back as 1994 when they tried and failed to reform health care. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:35 PM Subject: Unbelievable! KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog =BB Blog Archive =BB Unbelievable! list of 1 items . KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog=20 list end =20 Search!=20 Rate Me on eHam.Net Unbelievable! =20 This from Jim, WB8AZP, via the=20 ARROW mailing list: block quote Buried in the middle of the 1200-page Health Care Reform package is = something that should be disturbing to all US amateur radio operators. = Embedded in the funding guidelines section 415, paragraph 27, line 45, are details on = one of the mechanisms that the government intends to employ to help pay = for the staggering costs of the new plan. To put it simply, the new health care guidelines support the notion of = creative funding from untapped resources, and from other government = agencies, like the FCC. This puts the burden on funding on other agencies, and = therefore the health care reform pundits can claim that "they" didn't = introduce any new taxes to pay for everything. Lurking in the depths of the new health carecare package is a time bomb = waiting to affect all US Amateur Radio Operators; The new Talk And Pay = (TAP) Tax.. What does the TAP Tax do? Well, just as it implies, it adds a tax on to = each amateur license, based on usage of the bands. The FCC knew it was going to be troublesome to enforce this kind of = regulation, so they came up with a clever scheme - taxation by license = class. All Technician, General, and Extra Class Licensees will be taxed at a different rate. = Any holdover licenses from different classes will be taxed at the next = higher rate, so novice license holders will be taxed as technicians, advanced holders = as extra class licensees and so on. The logic is that higher class = licenses can use more of the frequencies; therefore they pay a larger percentage. = There are even paragraphs that define taxing stations that haven't = operated, (although you have to prove that by filing a waiver), stations where the license = holder has become a silent key (a different waiver), and repeater or = space stations (when the license is held by a non-profit group, you can apply for a = waiver as well). They legislators have even thought of the mechanism to = capture revenue from youngsters, in their special Tax On Eventual Earnings (TOE) tax. = So, a youngster who is not working will pay into a TOE TAP TAX account, = in the form of a debit owed to the government. Even retirees do not escape this tax, = as there is a provision for the SNAP TAP TAX (Sure Not Accounting for = Productivity). There does seem to be a provision for testing down to a previous license = class, so you can get a tax break by forfeiting your current license = class, (after taking a new 50 question written exam, and paying a hefty 45 dollar = examination fee). You'll be then required to sign BCKTP in CW or "slash = Back Tap" in voice. This looks to be pretty well thought out. I stopped reading after seeing = the FCC amateur radio entry. It appears that Cell phones and wireless = data networks will be next. There are 20 other government agencies listed in the = document. Where will this insanity end? All of this is scheduled to go = into effect on April 1, 2011, because there apparently wasn't enough time to implement = it before then. If this doesn't negatively impact the growth of amateur radio, I don't = know what will! I think it will also promote the notion of going really = underground, and not using your callsign at all., actually a practice that I've = already heard lots of people adopt, especially on VHF. I called my congressman after reading all of this, and he said that = there are already proposals being filed to allow credit for amateur = radio operators involved in public service, and he called it the Support for Individuals = Desiring to Engage in Services Training, Education, and Planning = (SIDESTEP). That makes me feel a little better. I think it just might be time to get rid of my gear, before all this TOE = TAP, SNAP TAP, BACK TAP, and SIDESTEP stuff goes into affect. Once = again, the government is here to help you. block quote end By: Dan KB6NU |=20 "Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to = live at the expense of everybody else."=20 -Frederic Bastiat Steve Lansing, MI