Senator plans Net taxes but no Net neutrality

Unfortunately this is NOT an urban legend, unlike those chain-letter e-mails that have been circulating around for some time. Given the nature of politicians, you just KNEW that they would start going after the net at some time to feed their voracious appetite for ever more sources of tax revenues loot.

More Americans would be forced to pay taxes subsidizing broadband service in “unserved” locales, and cities would be free to go into the Wi-Fi business under an upcoming U.S. Senate bill.

Later this week, Sen. Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, plans to introduce a legislative package called the Broadband for America Act of 2006, he said Tuesday morning at a conference here hosted by the National Telecommunications CooperativeAssociation, which represents small and rural carriers.

Hopefully this can be squelched, but these days, who knows?