Taxation Tyranny

"The Primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough voters to win the next election." - Anonymous

The (extra) one dollar a pack tax on cigarettes sold in Texas is now a year old and has, for fiscal '07, brought in $1.248 Billion in additional revenue to be used at the pleasure of our so-called representatives in Austin. Let's just hope more people take up the smoking habit so this cash cow can continue to fund pet projects.

Not to be greedy, but our benevolent legislators will now reap another tax windfall from yet another group of their hapless subjects: those who patronize strip clubs. This $5 per visit tax (expected to yield an annual $40 Million) will ostensibly fund sexual abuse programs.

Okay.....you don't smoke or visit strip clubs, so what do you care? Well, it's just a matter of time before our overlords decide to tax something that affects you, and if we let them get away with this type of tyranny, we'll have only ourselves to blame.

Here are some choice tax targets that, like smoking and strip clubs, won't have enough defenders to ward off the tax tyrants:

A greens fee tax for golfers ($5).....to help fund recreation facilities for those who don't have the time or money to enjoy golfing.

A tax on NASCAR race tickets ($5).....to help fund infrastructure improvements needed around the Texas Motor Speedway.

An additional tax on alcohol ($1/drink).....to help fund the police and EMS responses to alcohol-related traffic accidents.

A similar tax on tickets to professional sporting events.....because we don't really need a reason for taxing something, do we?

San Francisco's mayor is proposing a tax on soft drinks (to help fund tooth decay prevention programs?). He's another one of those we're-taxing-you-for-your-own-good liberals who care less about you than about filling the government's coffers. He's no different from our Governor, really.

Next thing you know, they'll want to tax tea......ring a bell?

At least now, votes in the Texas legislature will be recorded, so we'll know who supports oppressive laws. Tarring and feathering politicians and running them out of town on a rail is no longer an approved method of demonstrating the people's displeasure (darn it), so pay attention and vote wisely.

Do Texans have the will to defeat tax tyranny?..........do they even care?

I'm hoping for a big turnover in Austin soon. Otherwise, I might as well be living in the Peoples Republic of California.