You owe me $53. for posting this on my computer
A tax is a tax is a tax and the guy in the blue uniform is a tax collector.
I had something similar happen. I won't go into the particulars (I was ticketed in a ticket trap), but when it came time to pay the ticket and the fees, I was looking at about $120 (about $90 were miscellaneous fees). Paying the fine is understandable, but the fees are just another way to suck cash out of your wallet.
It's the GOVERNMENT. They do what they want. Contact your state legislators, and good luck. Somebody has to pay for the security at the courthouse and for the public defender who defends somebody, but not you, and for the judge (his clerk and court reporter) to show up even if you didn't. Thought your state and property tax paid for all these luxuries? It's the biggest ponzi scam going on.
NEWMAN:Well, you'll never guess what happened to me today. I was uh, driving [ Jerry and Kramer turn away] home on the palisades parkway when I looked in the rear view mirror and what did I see? The fuzz. And it's funny because my new radar detector was on. I didn't hear a thing. Isn't that strange?
KRAMER: Yeah. That's strange.
NEWMAN:A radar detector, as I understand it, DETECTS RADAR! WITH A SERIES OF BEEPS AND FLASHING LIGHTS. But oddly, for some reason I didn't hear a thing except for the sound of a police siren.
KRAMER: That's queer uh?
NEWMAN:I WANT MY HELMET BACK! GIVE ME BACK MY HELMET AND YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT TICKET.
KRAMER: Yeah, you better think again Mojumbo.
NEWMAN:You gave me a defective detector. ... Jerry?
JERRY: Buyer beware.
The last time I made that drive I hit the cruise control the second I crossed the border into VA and didn't turn it off until I reached Arlington.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here. this court is no doubt run by small goverment republicans.Um, don't speed?
Speeders disgust Me, I just want to drive along, looking for something to point a camera at, and You ride My bumper, waving a finger and gnashing Your teeth, but, I usually catch up with Your little, immature, behind at the next stop light. Don't come asking Me for pity!
I wish they would cancel Your liscence, then maybe I could really afford insurance again, I am sort of tired of subsidizing Your childish games.
In Texas, after you pay your fine to the local authorities, the state gouges you a surcharge for a minimum of another $104.00.
You have years, likely to feel the full impact. Many states use the safe driver points system, so by the end of it you could easily end up paying out well ver $1,000 for a speeding ticket.
The fine can't be reallocated to the local budgets, the fees can go directly back to the revenue of the local entity. As a result, the police has just morphed into a revenue generation department of local governments.
Ohio has a reputation for gouging travellers on the highways, especially the Turnpike. 65mph? Please. The highway is designed for 80mph. The Ohio Highway Patrol is a revenue collection squad.
By the way, Ohio is a hotbed for radar detector manufacturers... I wonder why?
Fees are the least offensive of the lot inasmuch as one notionally receives some service (administrative or otherwise) for the fee, albeit one that could be had at a much lower rate in the private sector, and the government employee whose salary you already pay, acts as though he or she is doing you the biggest favor in the world while performing that service.
Fines and taxes are both levies assessed by the regulators so that you may act within their bailiwick of regulation (i.e., earn income, own property, purchase goods and services, exceed the speed limit, etc.)and perform those activities which they regulate. Sometimes these are compounded with Fees when you have to defray the administrative cost of receiving a license to perform an activity (i.e., work in certain professions) which is then taxed.
As far as I can tell, the fundamental difference between taxes and fines is that fines are usually much lower.