Posted on 05/22/2009 4:48:42 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – From legalizing marijuana and then taxing it, to increasing death certificate fees and charging gentlemen's club patrons an extra $5 at the door, cash-strapped U.S. states and cities are rooting around for revenue in some unconventional places.
But even those able to scrounge up funds from untapped sources will likely still need federal help or traditional tax increases to recover from a 17-month recession that has dried up revenue, drained spending capabilities and nearly obliterated the usual last resort of borrowing.
Sin seems most ripe for the taxing in a list of proposed revenue moves compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures last month.
A California state legislator has proposed making marijuana legal and then charging a $50-per-ounce tax on it, along with the state's sales tax. Oregon has considered levying a $98-per-ounce duty on its legal medical marijuana.
Pornography, too, may have to shoulder part of the financial burden of some states. California lawmakers have proposed increasing sales taxes on sexually explicit content, while Virginia will soon start taxing hotel movie rentals.
Connecticut may reduce the commissions to those who sell lottery tickets and New Jersey could take unclaimed slot machine winnings.
Georgia lawmakers call the $5 fee they could charge customers at erotic dancer bars a "pole tax."
"Many of these kinds of things that they do at the state level raise modest levels of money," said Donald Boyd, senior fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. "They want to avoid raising the marquee taxes."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Why is it there is no mention of reduced spending as a solution.
That would be a sin, 5 dollars please. :-)
17 month? Where did that come from? We didn't see negative growth in the US GDP until the last quarter, 2008.
There’s a big ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign going on this weekend in Wisconsin and, most likely, other Nanny States.
If the cops pull you over for any infraction, they can also nail you for not wearing your seatbelt.
It’s going to be a Cash-Cow Free For All this weekend, so if you’re driving anywhere and want to be defiant, take some extra cash with you. ;)
With taxes like that, they will see no revenue. Pot will stay "underground", as it's cheaper than the tax. Don't politicians ever learn? Try taxing aspirin at $40 a bottle and see what happens.
Hmm,, gubamint is a religion to some..
Go ahead, raise the fee, what if no one paid it? After all, the dead isn;t going to pay anything--the estate doesn;t have to--what if the estate doesn't want a death certificate? All of them, stealing the pennies from your eyes....jeez
I see ‘Click It or Ticket’ on all over out here too..
I am staying off the roads and in the pool myself. Hopefully we break 80.. and then 1100 miles of racing.. (eyes glazed over) :-)
Keep on spendin’!
I actually have Saturday off! My second Saturday off in THREE YEARS! Wa-hoo!
Husband is taking me out to breakfast, then we’re hitting a Farmer’s Market, then we’re going on a Farm & Fleet run.
Matt & Ross Kenseth!
http://www.farmandfleet.com/homes/kenseth.aspx
I’m so EXCITED to be out in the world on a Saturday, I can’t begin to tell you, LOL!
Cool! Congrats and Enjoy!
U.S. states seek tax help from economic Pol Pot
Fixed it.
“We can’t have fiscal conservatism without moral conservatism.”
I take it you have not read Dr. Milton Friedman.
Your definition of “moral conservatism” restrict personal freedom, which the esteemed professor and author linked closely to fiscal conservatism, to fiscal freedom.
Your “moral conservatism” restricts my freedoms, which pleases you, but not me.
There is something States could do to increase revenue both for themselves and their cities, that would also protect their citizens, stimulate local businesses, and help alleviate some of the more unpleasant aspects of the economic depression.
Start issuing “scrip” currency, as a non-legal tender, complementary currency to the dollar. Even before there are is a severe downturn in the national economy, there are advantages that can be gained now by doing so.
To start with, it is a debt free and carefully controlled currency. Even if the dollar fluctuates wildly, scrip keeps its official rate. Prices on some items may be fixed, use of scrip is entirely voluntary, and in some cases, scrip loses 2% of its value automatically every month, to discourage hoarding. Exchange rate with the dollar is also set.
Scrip keeps trading going on in the marketplace, keeps local government functioning, even if that government is bankrupt of dollars. The State can issue scrip to the poor to buy food or see a doctor, if federal welfare collapses as a system.
Scrip encourages people to buy locally produced goods and services, because they cost less than imports. And people can spend whichever is the better currency. Because dollars are concentrated at the State government level, the State can purchase vital supplies not made in the State, such as pharmaceuticals.
In times of economic crisis, many homes will be foreclosed, and automobiles repossessed. Once the State has ownership of these, it can distribute them as needed, at a much lower scrip price.
Anyone who spends money on porn has failed at search-engine usage.
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