The controversial “bag tax” in Washington DC appears to be paying off. The DC Office of Tax and Revenue says that the tax has generated about $150,000 in the month of January alone – money that will be directed to the newly created Anacostia River Clean Up Fund. That may be all fine and good…
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 my…
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…
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 that affect everyone, sin taxes only affect people who engage in certain behaviors. The behaviors considered…
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.
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). Nevada has not collected any direct…
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 utilize…
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, the…
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…
Okay, don’t get me wrong. I think that providing universal health care options for children should be a priority in our country. However, shifting the burden to smokers to avoid what is essentially a political fight (the “who will pay for it” argument going on between the President and the Senate) is just a bit…