And a Happy April First to all!!
Pat, K9JAUAt 11:35 AM 4/1/2010, you wrote:
>KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog =BB Blog Archive =BB Unbelievable!
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>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