[CLUG] [OT] Government Bandwidth Tax

[Robert Sweetnam]

April Fool Per chance!!

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>From: "Damien Mulley" <mulley at esatclear.ie>
>To: cork at linux.ie
>Subject: [CLUG] [OT] Government Bandwidth Tax
>Date: Fri, Mar 31, 2000, 5:11 pm
>

>  This is an absolute scandal. How are we supposed to become the
> best country in the world for E-Commerce if theres going to be a
> bandwidth tax ? Those people in goverment buildings don't
> understand the net at all.
>
> Taken from Rueters :
> Irish Goverment Press Release.
>
> The Finance Minister Charles MacCreevy will next week announce
> a new bandwidth tax on computer networks whose final destination
> is a computer located outside Ireland. The Minister has been in
> consultation with various Computer Consultancy and Accountancy
> firms as well as the Minister for Trade Mary O'Ruorke.
>
>  "We believe that this will significantly increase the amount of tax
> collected from the technology areas and with this money we can
> reinvest it in goverment computing facilties" said Mr. MacCreevy.
>
>   The Minister of Trade is quoted as saying "We believe that this
> will encourage people that use the internet in Ireland to choose
> Irish Based webservices .It will be very beneficial for Irish
> Companies whose websites are located within Ireland. Companies
> whose webservers are outside Ireland will now be strongly
> encouraged to source their hosting needs within Ireland. We
> believe that with this bold Goverment Initiative at least 13 jobs will
> be created in the first 12-18 months."
>
>      Those that surf onto Irish Websites from abroad will not have to
> pay the tax. There have been some claims that this move is
> xenophobic and encouraging people to choose Irish Websites only.
> This appears to be the first stage in a daring plan to help Irish
> Online Business prosper. There are also hints that the goverment
> may drop the contoversial Television License fee and instead
> introduce a Computer Internet License.
>
> Content Taken from Rueters
>
>
>
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