From: Steve Reid <root@edmweb.com>
Date: Sat, 4 May 1996 15:50:49 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: "Bit Tax" proposed by satan@hell.gov
In-Reply-To: <199605031414.KAA32390@osceola.gate.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960503154400.313D-100000@bitbucket.edmweb.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Consumption taxation would, of course,
>include a tax on the amount of information coming into your computer.  I
>don't think that the government will have any problem determining the
>quantity of the information & since it will be encrypted anyway, I don't
>see the privacy worries.

The problem with a tax on data is that it would be *extremely* unfair. 

It would be like a tax on atoms. With a tax on atoms, the tax on a bag of
groceries would be hundreds of times greater than the tax on a diamond
ring, because there are more atoms in a bag of groceries

Bits are the digital equivalent of atoms. With a tax on bits, the tax on
the download of an up-to-date virus scanner would be hundreds of times
greater than the tax on an emailed business contract.

If this bit tax thing were attempted, the amount of time people spend
online would be determined entirely by their income; if you can't afford
the tax, you can't use the net. Conversely, with employment moving to the
net, people's income would be determined by how much time they spend
working on the net. That creates a nasty catch-22; if you can't afford to 
use the net, you can't get a job; and if you can't get a job, you can't 
afford to use the net.

I understand some ISPs currently charge for data, but it's very cheap 
(My company pays around $20 per gigabyte). The amount of taxation needed 
to sustain a government would be hundreds of times greater.

And of course, taxing on data would discourage new technology, since new 
technology usually requires a lot more bandwidth. People wouldn't use the 
new technology because it could easily quadruple (or more) their taxes.

This bit tax idea must have come directly from satan@hell.gov.

======================================================================
| Steve Reid - SysAdmin & Pres, EDM Web (http://www.edmweb.com/)     |
| Email: steve@edmweb.com   Home Page: http://www.edmweb.com/steve/  |
| PGP (2048/9F317269) Fingerprint: 11C89D1CD67287E68 C09EC52443F8830 |
|               -- Disclaimer: JMHO, YMMV, IANAL. --                 |
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