Posts tagged as:

sin-tax

Hey Congress, Why Don’t You…? Tax Bad Behaviors

31 August 2009

Donna Peeples writes:
I have seen a lot of articles in the paper about taxing sodas and foods that are bad for you. I say, “Why not?”
I used to be a smoker. At one point, I was up to two packs a day. When New Jersey raised their cigarette tax, I stopped because [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Best for Who?

31 July 2009

This week, there’s been a considerable focus on a number of proposed “sin taxes” including those on soda, cosmetic surgery and plastic bags. In theory, sin taxes are meant to prevent certain kinds of behavior – whether or not they accomplish it is a whole other story.
I realize that nobody wants to pay extra [...]

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NJ Applies Retroactive Tax To Lottery Winners

16 July 2009

When New Jersey Governor Corzine and the legislature were scrambling to find ways to fill the holes in their budget, it was clear that they wanted to utilize “sin” or “vice” taxes as much as possible. Unlike income taxes which affect everyone, sin taxes only affect people who engage in certain behaviors. The [...]

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Do taxgirl Readers Support Sin Taxes?

18 May 2009

There’s still time to participate in the “sin tax” survey… It only takes a few moments of your time and it’s completely anonymous. Sound off on sin taxes – I’ll be posting the results this week.

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Nevada Prostitutes Support Sex Tax

9 April 2009

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Nevada legislators got an earful (and an eyeful) on Tuesday during a hearing about whether to tax prostitutes. The tax would be $5 per sex act and would raise more than $2 million per year for the state (I did the math on that one for you, it’s 400,000). [...]

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Alabama Imposes “Fat Tax”

28 October 2008

Just one week after I published my primer on Alabama state taxes, an article was posted on TheRoot.com touting a new tax in Alabama: the fat tax.
It’s not as literal as it sounds. The Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board has approved a plan which requires state workers to pay up if they don’t [...]

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Fat? TV Addict? Should You Be Taxed on Your Lifestyle?

7 June 2008

This week, I happened to notice a series of ads running in my local paper (The Philadelphia Inquirer) for Derrie-Air airlines. There were two features that distinguished Derrie-Air from, say, USAirways and United. One was the method of determining fare:
The magic comes from our one of a kind “Sliding Scale”—the more you weigh, [...]

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South Carolina Legislators Endeavor to Make the State Moral

9 April 2008

With apologies to my brother and his family who no doubt voted for some of the representatives in the South Carolina legislature, the state should be embarrassed for its constant attempts to make the state fit someone’s view of morality.
Just a few short days after South Carolina passed a law to give married couples a [...]

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What’s It Worth to You?

6 June 2007

In response to my post about PETA’s proposed meat tax, Sally over at Living Without Meat had this to say:
What she doesn’t share with us is if the tax deal goes through, will she go back to her formerly meat-free diet?
That’s right: I used to be a vegetarian. I was meat free from [...]

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