Everyone’s seen the fake e-mail about Congress debating a bill to tax e-mail but now comes news of a real tax proposal that could effect ever laptop and home user with 802.11.  President Bush’s 2007 Budget has a measure in it to tax “un-auctioned” radio signals.  Auctioned signals are those sold off by the Federal government to businesses such as wireless carriers for cellular phones and radio stations.  Since Wi-Fi is not auctioned by the government for its use, the Bush Administration seems to think this would be a great revenue maker for the United States.

As to who would be levied the tax, this is unclear. It could be the manufacturer, like Linksys for example, or it could be the end user. Like walkie talkies that use frequencies that require payment for its use, individuals would have to pay similarly to use Wi-Fi on their computer.

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