Free Republic

It’s never too early for Washington, D.C., politicians to dampen the holiday spirit. The House Agriculture Committee approved an amendment to its farm bill that would lift the stay blocking implementation of Obama’s Christmas tree tax. We should be thankful the Agriculture Committee doesn’t have jurisdiction over toys. The Christmas Tree Tax Some in the Christmas tree industry sought to develop a promotional program to assist its industry. After three failed attempts to set up a voluntary system, they turned to the federal government to do what it couldn’t: Force Christmas tree producers and importers to pay for a Christmas...

I want to do a specific thing. So does my brother. You want to do the same thing. Our friend doesn’t agree. Nor does your brother. What’s our solution? We can petition the federal government to compel their compliance! Seriously, we can do that. Two weeks ago, America witnessed the absurdity of a relatively obscure law when the Obama administration announced a 15-cent tax on Christmas trees. After the diligent research of The Heritage Foundation prompted a public outcry, the administration quickly postponed (but not eliminated) the tax. Perhaps more interesting is how the tax came about. The National Christmas...

First, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took on public sector unions. Now he's re-igniting the Christmas wars. Walker said Monday that the evergreen decorated with ornaments and adorned with a star in the center of Wisconsin's Capitol Rotunda is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree as it's been called for the past 25 years. The roughly 30-foot-tall tree was called a Christmas tree from the first display in 1916 until 1985. That's when politicians bowed to concerns about government endorsing religion and started referring to it as a holiday tree. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has opposed the term...

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees;...

Now it's a Christmas Tree Tax...... This clown in the white house works around the clock everyday to harm America and it's citizens.... Are we such fools as to believe that the Christmas Tree needs it's image promoted and improved when it's on every corner in every town; when every theme park in the country has a tree up the day after Halloween thru the 1st of the year... This why the American people don't get mad when this clown goes on vacation every other week, using two planes: for his Queen and one for himself, and one for the...

Obama administration proposes 15 cent Christmas tree tax By Alicia M. Cohn - 11/09/11 09:17 AM ET The Obama administration is proposing a new tax on Christmas trees to fund a board promoting the holiday trees. The Christmas Tree Promotion Board would be funded by a new 15 cent per tree tax on large-scale producers of Christmas trees. A group of Christmas tree producers and importers worried about the skyrocketing use of artificial trees proposed the new board. Under the proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the board would seek to revitalize the marketing and image of fresh-cut Christmas...

The Obama administration has given the green light for a new fee of 15 cents on all Christmas trees. The new tax will be used to raise funds for an advertising campaign promoting the benefits of live trees, as opposed to artificial ones. The tax is expected to raise approximately $2 million, according to McClatchy News. A 12-member board will be charged with directing the funds toward advertising and research ventures. The industry was divided on the issue. Nineteen states’ grower organizations lit up at the prospect of the tax, while Christmas tree growers in Texas and Vermont generally opposed...

Mr. Grinch, Mr. Scrooge, meet Mr. Obama. No, it’s not a joke. President Obama really is imposing a special new tax on Christmas trees. And while the policy seems a ludicrous political misstep – and possibly an unconstitutional one at that – in truth, the Obama Christmas Tree Tax is much worse than that. The $2 million the Obama Administration expects the tax to raise will not reduce the deficit or cover needed government services. Instead, it will serve as a marketing slush fund for the Christmas tree industry.' The money will set up a brand new government agency called...

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

No, it’s not a joke. President Obama really is imposing a special new tax on Christmas trees. And while the policy seems a ludicrous political misstep – and possibly an unconstitutional one at that – in truth, the Obama Christmas Tree Tax is much worse than that. The $2 million the Obama Administration expects the tax to raise will not reduce the deficit or cover needed government services. Instead, it will serve as a marketing slush fund for the Christmas tree industry. The money will set up a brand new government agency called (no, seriously) the Christmas Tree Promotion Board....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News. The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets. The well-trafficked Drudge Report is leading with the story, linking to a blog by David Addington, a former top aide to then-Vice President David Addington, at the conservative Heritage Foundation assailing the president thus: “The economy is barely growing and nine percent of the...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News. The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets. The well-trafficked Drudge Report is leading with the story, linking to a blog by David Addington, a former top aide to then-Vice President David Addington, at the conservative Heritage Foundation assailing the president thus: “The economy is barely growing and nine percent of the...

In the face of a national outcry, the Obama administration has decided to delay its Christmas Tree Tax—first reported here on the Foundry—though they haven’t said till when (presumably until the criticism blows over). ABC’s Jake Tapper reports: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation a revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News. The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday, and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets. The program, which would have levied...

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees;...