Feral Jundi

     I like it, and I am sure many aid organizations and companies getting harassed by the Afghan government will like this as well.

     If you support a bill like this, by all means communicate that to Reps. Welch or Rep. Jones. I have also provided the FAQ below from a website called Congress.org that spells out how you can best communicate electronically with Congress.(you can sign up with their service, or just do it on your own)

     Also, if you want to ‘like’ a congressman on Facebook, and voice your opinion on the bill on their wall, that is another quick way of communications and voicing support. –Matt

Welch and Jones introduce bipartisan bill to stop Afghanistan from taxing US aid

Monday, 07 March 2011

Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) on Monday introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent the Afghan government from taxing American companies delivering US aid to Afghanistan.

The Stop Taxing American Assistance to Afghanistan Act (H.R. 936) would bar future assistance to Afghanistan unless US contractors and subcontractors delivering aid are exempt from taxation by the government of Afghanistan. According to the Washington Post, the Afghan government recently sent overdue tax bills to US contractors working in the country.

“It is absurd for the Aghan government to suggest taxing America’s effort to rebuild their country,” Welch said. “While that may make sense in Hamid Karzai’s world, it makes no sense to the American taxpayer. This legislation will make sure America is not taxed on the assistance it provides to Afghanistan.”

“It is outrageous for the Karzai government to tax U.S infrastructure spending for the reconstruction of their country,” Jones said.

The calls to tax US contractors come despite bilateral agreements that exempt US-based companies from such taxation. In recent months, the Afghan government has warned contractors in the country that failure to pay what it deems overdue tax bills could result in arrest or confiscation of goods.

H.R. 936 was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Story here.

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Communicating with Congress

E-mailing Your Elected Officials

Veteran Washington reporter Craig Crawford offers some tips on how to write an effective letter to Congress. (Transcription available here. )

Members of Congress prefer to hear from their constituents by e-mail. It’s faster, easier to sort and doesn’t present any security risks. (Read more here.) In order to avoid having their in boxes flooded with spam and letters from people in other states, Senators and Representatives require people e-mailing them to supply an address and other information before sending an e-mail. Because of these requirements, however, you cannot e-mail more than one of your elected officials at the same time through their Web sites.

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