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From: Eric.Bohlman@p1.f778.n115.z1.fidonet.org (Eric Bohlman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: modems and money
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Date: 6 Nov 90 04:14:24 GMT
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 BG> From: 34AEJ7D@CMUVM.BITNET (Bill Gorman)

 BG> Does anybody know the status of the proposed taxes Bush wants to slap
 BG> on modems, computers, etc., as the user fees proposed for everyone
 BG> using a modem over a phone line?

At one point it looked as if the "luxury tax" was going to cover computers,  
but it appears to have been dropped from the proposal.

There NEVER WAS a proposal on the part of the Federal government to impose a  
surcharge for modem use.  What WAS proposed (and rather quickly dropped) was  
to impose a surcharge on data networks (such as CompuServe) that  
used their own long-distance transmission facilities rather than using those  
of carriers like AT&T or MCI.  The rationale was that AT&T, MCI, etc. were  
required to pay access charges to local phone companies and that the exemption  
for the data networks gave them an unfair advantage.  While this proposal  
would have resulted in severe rate increases for CompuServe or PCPursuit  
subscribers, it would have had NO effect on the rates for making local or  
long-distance calls through ordinary carriers.

Some of the confusion arose because at the same time, some phone companies in  
the Southwest were trying to classify BBSs as businesses in order to charge  
them business rates for their incoming lines.  The FCC proposal to impose a  
monthly surcharge on modem users and give it to the phone companies to replace  
revenues lost to deregulation, however, was as real as the Doberman that was  
choking on a burglar's finger and the Mexican dog that was really a giant  
rat--an urban legend.
 

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