I'm sure Phyllis has our best interests at heart, but please know that this "warning" is a hoax, and do not forward it to anyone else. I have attached some information below. Leslie archive of legends & netlore Bill 602P - U.S. Postal Tax on Email Originally posted: 05/22/99 Here's an item straight out of the hoax recycling bin. A "new" email forward claims that the U.S. Postal Service wants to levy a 5-cent federal surcharge on every email delivered within the United States. Far from being new, however, this message has been zipping from modem to modem since May 1999. A <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/blemtax.htm">virtually identical message</A> circulating one month earlier claimed that exactly the same thing was happening in Canada. False, in both cases (see <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/#comments">comments</A> below). Comments: Compare the above to the <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/blemtax.htm">Canadian version</A> of April 1999. It's essentially the same message. Some copycat prankster merely localized the original for U.S. consumption by replacing Canadian references with United States equivalents. No points for cleverness or originality there. Here's an excerpt from the U.S. Postal Service's <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.usps.gov/news/email.htm">published response</A>: > A completely false rumor concerning the U.S. Postal Service is being > circulated over the Internet via e-mail. The e-mail message claims that a > "Congressman Schnell" has introduced "Bill 602P" to allow the federal > government to impose a 5-cent surcharge on each e-mail message delivered > over the Internet. The money would be collected by Internet Service > Providers and then turned over to the Postal Service. No such proposed > legislation exists. In fact, no "Congressman Schnell" exists. > > <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.usps.gov/news/email.htm">'Email rumor completely untrue'</A> The Washingtonian: > <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.washingtonian.com/about/emailhoax.html">'Email hoax'</A> CNET News.com: > <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.news.com:80/News/Item/0%2C4%2C37852%2C00.html%3Fowv">'Email hoax clutters lawmakers' inboxes'</A> Roy Betts, manager of media relations for the Postal Service, put it more bluntly in person: "It's obviously a hoax." Er... evidently not so obviously to those who keep forwarding the rumor to everyone they know. Those tempted to believe this nonsense should visit the Library of Congress Website and <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c106query.html">search House bills</A> for "Bill 602P" (hint: that's not even how House bills are numbered). Or examine the <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://clerkweb.house.gov/106/mbrcmtee/members/mbrsalph/oalmfram.htm">List of Representatives</A> for a "Congressman Tony Schnell." You won't find them, because they don't exist. Moreover, more than one bonafide member of Congress has issued a <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.house.gov/holden/is%2Dusps.htm">statement</A> decrying the "Internet tax" as a hoax. The Washingtonian, accused in the email of publishing an editorial in support of the tax proposal, has also issued a <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.washingtonian.com/about/emailhoax.html">disavowal</A>. Rumors of rate hikes or surcharges for Internet access, no matter how preposterous, never fail to generate hysteria among rank and file users. Witness the furor over the similar <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.urbanlegends.com/classic/modem%5Ftax.html">modem tax</A> legend of a decade ago, or the more recent <A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/weekly/aa012099.htm">per-minute access charge</A> rumors that have swamped the FCC's offices with protests in recent years. Updates: Protests Result in Congressional Action - Ironically, the U.S. House of Representatives, reacting to calls, letters and emails protesting the nonexistent "Bill 602P" over the past year, passed a real bill in May 2000 prohibiting such a tax from ever being enacted. See "<A HREF="http://www.urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C15186%2C00.html">House Outlaws an Urban Legend</A>" from the Industry Standard, May 17, 2000. </HTML>