[DogByte6RER]

Taxed to Death

[WayneS]

If you buy fruit from a vending machine – and who hasn't done that

I haven't. In fact, I'm not sure I know anyone who has...

[WayneS]

During the first century AD, the Roman empire taxed urine...

That's one sure way to pi$$ off your constituents...

[Tallguy]

My favorite is the “Use Tax”. The state just sends you a form requiring you to disclose any product of service for which you paid no sales tax for that calendar year. So if you purchased that new tablet PC through some online retailer, guess what?

[mewzilla]

NYS is the state that hired 50,000+ people during a recent hiring freeze. Hence the draconian taxation.

[Uncle Ike]

Does anybody remember when we were the T.E.A. (Taxed ENOUGH, Already!!) party??

(Before the Media turned us into the inflamed appendix of the Republican party??)

[SpaceBar]

The old saying about the ability to tax is the ability to destroy, remains true as always.

[Daveinyork]

I think it’s time for another tea party show of force, maybe on tax day.

[sauropod]

read

[Navy Patriot]

California has gone bananas over the purchase of fruit by consumers. If you buy an apple from a regular retailer, you're in good shape, as the purchase is tax-exempt. If you buy fruit from a vending machine – and who hasn't done that – you'll pay an additional 33% on the amount of the purchase.

Interesting, this is a tax on kids, and a mean one at that.

Now it becomes apparent why California food Marxists have banned all "unhealthy" foods and soda from school lunches and possession by students. It's buy fruit from vending machines or starve.

[Tucker39]

Another BIGGIE use for urine was in the making of salt petre for manufacturing gunpowder.

http://www.wisegeek.com/can-you-really-make-gunpowder-from-urine.htm

Urine can in fact be used in the manufacture of gunpowder, and it has historically been a very important source of one of the crucial ingredients in gunpowder, saltpeter, also known as niter. This nitrate compound is what allows gunpowder to rapidly oxidize and catch fire, generating an explosion which can be used to fire munitions. In the modern era, there are less smelly ways to get saltpeter, typically through an industrial process which uses ammonia as a base.
While you cannot literally make gunpowder from urine, as you need several other ingredients to produce gunpowder, urine can certainly be used to produce one necessary element. In addition to saltpeter, however, people also need charcoal and sulfur. These ingredients are both readily available, unlike saltpeter, so the popular stories about making gunpowder from urine do have a rational basis. Until the First World War, before people learned to reliably synthetically produce niter, urine, guano, and manure were all collected to produce gunpowder.

In the movie “1776” there is a musical scene where John Adams, in Philadelphia for deliberations during the Revolution, is communicating with Abigail back in Massachusetts, urging her and the ladies back home to make and send salt petre to Philadelphia for producing gunpowder....to which Abigail replies that the ladies in Massachusetts need PINS. Send PINS! No pins - no salt petre!
P.S. The ladies GOT their pins! ;o)

[B Knotts]

We have no sales tax in Oregon. However, there are special taxes on certain things, like hotel rooms.

Recently, there were billboards decrying the amount of sugar in soft drinks. I didn’t understand why state government was concerning itself with this, until quite recently.

The reason is that Multnomah County (and, presumably, other counties or the state) wants to tax soda/pop, and so the government was using tax dollars to preemptively demonize it.

[Mr.Unique]

Here's a good one:

Say you go to buy the new Iphone for $499.

However, find that you get the phone for $99, if you sign a one year contract for cellular and data services.

California still charges you sales tax on the $499.