The power to destroy is the power to tax. Did I get that backwards? I'm sorry. The power to tax is the power to destroy. I suppose it makes no difference. It's a statement of equivalence rather than implication. Nothing neutral about it, is there? Black Unicorn wrote:
No, the real question is who can knock down or render inoperable the OWNER of the satellite.
They're first cousins, I suppose.
----- Original Message ----- From: <mmotyka@lsil.com> To: <cypherpunks@einstein.ssz.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 8:58 AM Subject: Who can tax a satellite?
``I'm neutral on the whole thing,'' he said. ``My job is to make sure all property that's taxable gets assessed and I'm going to follow the law. If the law says its not taxable it's not taxable. If it is taxable I will assess it.''
I suppose, as with any racket, whoever has the ability to knock the satellites down or render them inoperable could levy a "tax" on them.