At 11:13 PM 5/3/96, Steve Reid wrote:

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

Chill out, it's not a real proposal.

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

"Yeah, my tax guy really saved me a lot last year...he knows some really great data compression algorithms." --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."