Ham Radio Help Desk

As concerns about the economy grow, the government continues to seek ways of funding its massive expansion by the levy of a tax on each QSO an amateur radio operator completes while using the nation’s airwaves.

Justifying the QSO tax, sources on Capitol Hill say the FCC will be empowered to no longer allow users free access to the radio spectrum. “The radio airwaves belong to the people and business interests are paying good money to acquire rights to use this precious resource” says one source.

The proposed tax would be similar to other user fees proposed by the administration. Pilots face a similar threat as user fees for operating in the nation’s airspace are being considered as replacements for the simple tax on aviation fuel.

Initial reports suggest the tax amount would be approximately 4.2 cents per QSO.

The Federal Observers Obstructionists Libertarians for Science, a science monitoring organization with a radio rights consumer protection group, are crying fowl at the proposal as yet another impractical and unenforceable user tax by money starved federal politicians. This also unfairly taxes amateur radio operators while leaving the users of GMRS, FRS and CB radios fee free.

The Feds counter the argument with the suggestion “since amateur radio operators log their QSOs they routinely have a documented way to compute the ham’s tax bill.”

Several radio contesting groups immediately identified a vast disparity between contesting and rag chewing. A source is quoted “why should contestors be penalized by paying the same for each QSO at several per minute while the rag chewer might talk about prescription drugs, microphone settings, medication timers, etc. in ‘one’ QSO lasting an hour?”

Net operators and participants remain unsure how this tax will be calculated for their regular on-the-air meetings.

The Amateurs for Pious Radio Intellectual Language, a rag chewer’s association, were heard praising the QSO tax as a way to “Get those contest operators off the air by costing them out of the way.”

First amendment protection groups are concerned this QSO User Fee tax is just another ploy by the PC democrats to muffle the strongly libertarian viewpoints heard on 75 meters every evening; Someone from 3938 was heard to say “…I guess we are being lumped in with AM Talk Radio.”

Tax watchdog groups report a new bureaucracy will be created to administrate the log files of amateurs to verify compliance. The revenue received from the QSO Penny Tax will not offset the cost to collect the fees, but will serve only to grow the government. A source in the whitehouse commented “That’s the idea.”

Many hams are suggesting the Amateurs for Pious Radio Intellectual Language and the Federal Observers Obstructionists Libertarians for Science unite their resources and fight the QSO User Fees together.