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E-mail tax may help stop spam, Dayton says

Nov 19, 2003 2:18PM PST

US Senator Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota) says legislators have to consider a "miniscule" e-mail tax if they are serious about combatting spam. Such a tax would raise the cost of sending tens of thousands of e-mails, making spam less profitable. Sen. Dayton said an e-mail tax should be studied along with other anti-spam proposals, but stressed that he is not advocating such a measure, and that he does not favor such a plan at this time. the Senate passed legislation in October 2003 to allow the Federal Trade Commission to establish a do-not-spam registry, to prohibit deceptive subject lines, and to require spammers to include an address users could respond to in order to be removed from the list. Both the October legislation and Mr. Dayton's proposal have met with skepticism, however. Anne Mitchell, president of the Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy, says spammers could work around any tax system, or use phony credit cards.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4220626.html

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