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Thread: Monopoly charges from the state and the perception of avoiding general tax increases

  1. #1
    Curmudgeon OtakuLoki's avatar
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    Mar 2009
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    Rochester, NY
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    Default Monopoly charges from the state and the perception of avoiding general tax increases

    Inspired by this bit of insult added to tragedy, where a baby who lived one hour is charged a $50 death tax.

    Originally sold as a tax on cremations, to minimize the number of remains that would be cremated - because that would destroy evidence if the coroner's office had to investigate the death at some later time, starting this year the King's County Coroner's office has expanded it to simply a death tax, for all persons who die within the county - to fund the coroner's office.

    Now, in these times of shrinking budgets for all sorts of public purposes, it's hard to argue against trying to find new sources of income. But I'll do it anyways.

    I loathe the idea that the government has the ability to look at some universal event in people's lives, and impose a fee upon it, without directly offering anything of value in justification for that fee. Worse I hate that such fees are popular with politicians and bureaucrats, because they allow them to increase revenues without actually increasing services and without raising the things that people think of as their "regular" taxes: income taxes, sales taxes or property taxes.

    I believe the game is actually the modern equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul, with the population at large being hoodwinked. And it disgusts me. I'd far rather see an honest increase in those normal taxes I'd mentioned than these lying, cheating, and dishonest ways of raising revenue that have become so popular in recent years.

    It's even worse, in my opinion, because these sorts of taxes, combined with sin taxes, serve to plaster over what are often chronic and systemic problems with the revenue and expenditure streams in many state and local governments. By enacting these sorts of hidden taxes, or fees, these governments often manage to arrange funding for the next fiscal year, while leaving the larger problems unresolved (NYS, I'm looking at you! $25 billion deficit projected over the next three years...) and the underlying causes of the problem free to continue snowballing.

    Finally, it's just bloody dishonest, and that cheeses me off.

  2. #2
    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    Feb 2009
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    Central NJ (near Bree)
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    Default

    I agree totally. Raise the damn taxes, not the fees. Fees also unfairly burden the poor far more than the rich in most though not all cases. Registrations costs, Dog licenses, Cat Licenses! (really cat licenses? Why? just a money grab, thankfully my town does not do this stupidity but my last town tried it), death taxes as you mentioned, a fee for this and a fee for that. Permits that far exceed in cost the cost to the town, etc. It is unfair and I'll agree bloody dishonest.

    Though I do favor the sin taxes. Sorry, I know I am in a minority on this one. Anything that ends up putting a burden on the state and or health care system is fair game for sin taxes.

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