DC_girl, After describing what government IS in such eloquent fashion you wrote, " it (government) HAS to if majority of the people decide it is or it contributes directly to teh welfare of the people. THAT is what the government is for." What if the MAJORITY determines that government HAS to give each one of us a house? Does your free trade hoopla cover that? Maybe government is not a puppet that fufills what the public desires. May be government is an entity that works with the public for the public, with an eye that keeps a check on the fact that IT doesn't get screwed in the process. So let me tell you that I am sure the government will even get each one of its pupil a house, as long as it can benefit from that business. Now my question to you, since we are bickering about tax, whats the benefit that Nepal or the US is going to get from you or your tax break? Thats what I mean by humility. We, as citizens of Nepal, have nothing to offer. India and China, however, exports the brightest technicians to the US as students and MAY BE to continue that, the US saw it as a beneficial thing to make their lives easier with tax breaks and benefits. There was a reason for the Indian as well as Chinese government to push for these changes; there was a give and a take. Indian and chinese government also benefitted as they got able technicians in their countries with knowledge of western technologies and trade. Do we even come close to that? I dont think so. We still represent that class of people who are assumed to be waiters and waitresses if we say we work for Starbucks; the possibility of us being in one of the corporate position of that company is still yet to dawn upon majority of the people. And don't get me wrong, may be theres a tax treaty thats been signed between Nepal and the US. I just dont think the means to that is a nobel one. I would rather pay a little more in taxes and take it upon our inability to raise our stature than pay a little less with another stamp on our back that says "you are poor so don't have to pay that much." The choice is a personal one. We are all fighting against this, in one form or the other. I just chose mine to be a little different.