More Taxes Coming Up
The Orange County Register takes a look at two ballot initiatives Californians will vote on this November, giving both the slam they deserve.
It's always frightening from a libertarian point of view to see things like this on the ballot in California. They might well pass. But, voters rejected the last two initiatives, and one, that universal preschool initiative that targeted wealthy people, should have been a fairly easy one to pass. Californians are just like everyone else in being willing to pass a tax that doesn't apply to them.
It will be interesting to see if the NO trend continues with these two. If the proposed tobacco tax loses, I'd say that might well be the sign of a new trend among California voters. Then again, I think you'd have to look at it in the context of all the initiatives that pass or fail this November to try and establish a trend.
As for me, I'll certainly be voting NO on both the tobacco and gas taxes. Not just for the money but as a matter of principle.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:15 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
If passed this will be a boon for Indian Casinos. I believe they are exempt already from all the state taxes on cigarettes, so if you want them cheap go there. You don't have to go to Nevada.
I keep hearing that indian reservations sell tobacco without the state tax applied, which would make sense since they're federal reservations. I would guess that would put them in the same group as military bases?
I don't know. I also read somewhere that , I don't recall if it was reservations, casinos, or both, the indians cut some deal with the state where the state gets tobacco tax money from the indians anyway. I don't know what the truth is.
Myself? I get my stash from out of state bootleggers. Originally I told myself even if I had to pay more buying tobacco out of state, I'll do it just to beat the state. The guy that gets me my stuff sells it cheaper than tobacco sold for here before the tax. Should of gone with him years ago.
Long live black markets and long live bootleggers!
Fred,
I don't know how you have your stuff shipped, but that loophole will doubtless be closed by the Calif supreme soviet. If you doubt this just check out any sport or agricultural catalogue and note how many "products" cannot be shipped to California.
The enviromentalists had effectively put the southern Calif oil fields out of business but the recent spike in crude prices has returned some of them to economic feasability. This initiative will end that resurgence and remove those fields from production. But that's their strategy anyway. The enviros are worse than the Communists. The coms were in favor of econimic growth whereas the enviros would force an 18th century lifestyle on all of society.
Leonidas wrote, "If you doubt this just check out any sport or agricultural catalogue and note how many "products" cannot be shipped to California.".
Oh, I know. They've also been going after the records of retailers from out of state and finding Californians who order from out of state and sending them tax bills in the order of hundreds to thousands of dollars for tobacco they bought "illegally".
I won't say how my stuff gets here but so far it makes it without a problem.
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