The power to tax is the power to destroy. (Internet tax moratorium expires oct. 21)

Josey1

Dear e-Citizen,As the old saying goes: The power to tax is the power to destroy. Withthat in mind, Congress is poised to destroy the Internet as you and I knowit.On Sunday, October 21, 2001, a moratorium which prohibits government fromtaxing the Internet will expire. Originally imposed in 1998, reports theAssociated Press, the moratorium "prohibits taxes on Internet access andbans any tax that singles out the Internet." If the moratorium expires, thebarn door to Internet taxation will be thrown WIDE open to politicians whosee a honey-pot of new tax revenue they just won't be able to resist dippingtheir paws into."Internet taxes are simply a way for incompetent governors to swell theirbudgets with the hard-earned dollars of taxpayers outside of theirdistricts," says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform."The practice is tantamount to taxation without representation, isunconstitutional, and is a fraud widely recognized by Americans all acrossthe country."On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled House passed H.R. 1552, an extensionof the ban for an additional two years, and sent the bill over to theSenate. On Thursday, the Democrat-controlled Senate refused to pass theextension before adjourning for the weekend.That means the moratorium will indeed expire on Sunday. "Starting Monday,there's an opportunity for considerable mischief," said Sen. Ron Wyden(D-Ore.).Indeed there is. Especially under the current economic conditions, withgovernments at all levels scrambling to find new money to fund new programsrather than set spending priorities and cut wasteful spending. But that'san argument for another day.The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 to wrap uplingering business before adjourning for the year. If the Senate fails toreconsider its position, you're going to see the biggest camel's tax-noseunder you're e-tent since Al Gore invented the Internet.There's no time to waste. Please contact your two U.S. senators IMMEDIATELYby signing the "Permanent Ban on Internet Taxes" petition at http://www.libertypetitions.com urging them to vote in favor of S. 777 to"extend the moratorium enacted by the Internet Tax Freedom Act." Then geteveryone on your e-mail list to do the same.Final Note: Many of you will recall an e-mail that has been circulating fora long time falsely claiming that Congress was prepared to pass bill 602(P)to impose taxes on the Internet. It was a hoax (congressional bills aren'teven numbered that way). But it fooled a LOT of people.This one, folks, is NOT a hoax. It's a real threat.But don't take my word for it. Go to the official congressional web site at http://thomas.loc.gov and look up S. 777 for yourself. Then immediately goto our web site and fire off this petition to your senators before they gohome. There's no time to lose!e-Sincerely yours,Chuck MuthLiberty PetitionsTo sign this petition, go to: http://www.libertypetitions.com