[Reese Hamm]

It isn't a tax. The growers had to have some way to calculate how much each one would contribute to the fund and THEY, not the government, said okay, any of us who grow or import more than 500 trees agrees to pay 15 cents per toward this program. It is paid up front, before a single tree is sold. (Sure, it is rolled into the final price just as any other promotional program would be.) But the fee is collected not only their full consent but at their request.

It's the same program used by the dairy farmers for the "Got Milk?" (1995?) campaign and by the beef council for the "Beef, it's what's for dinner" (1992?) campaign. I don't know about you but I haven't seen a skyrocketing national sales tax on milk or beef come roaring along in the last decade.

[American in Israel]

A “Government Mandated Tax” IS a tax. And people don’t like taxes, as the thread reactions show. Personally I think it was a real stupid move. Why oh why use the government to force this on others. Why not just do it on your own. Unless of course some people disagreed and would not pony up the tax, er, contribution mandated by law.

Somebody tried to get cute with government power and it bit them. And my guess is that it is not done biting them. Wait and see. It costs government a buck to do a dimes work and 50 cents to document it.

Bad

Idea.