Group Taxes

With all the press on group taxes I thought I might point out some groups that could be taxed just to provide funds for Education.

Alcohol Sales

Military, Active, Reserve, Retired

Police

Fire Fighters

Tobacco Sales

Hunters

Legislators

Weapons Purchases

Fishing Purchases

Individual Cities

Individual Counties

Gamblers

Barge Operators

Truck Drivers

Teachers

School Districts

Cab Drivers

Bus Drivers

Delivery Drivers

Colleges

Where do you stop taxing just to provide funds for Education?  Which group do you tax?  What happens if a person belongs to more than one group?  What would be your tax rate for belonging to many groups?  It is not that I am against paying for education but I am against targeting a specific group. 

My point in this blog is to make people think about taxation and what you really pay.  For example the average homeowner pays a school tax, property tax, personal property tax, federal tax, sales tax, Social Security tax, State tax and a local tax.  This might not seem to be a lot but when all added up you are looking at a tax rate of 40% or higher on the homeowner.  Now if that homeowner happens to smoke then you are adding an additional tax on just that item.

$.90 cents on a pack of cigarettes may not sound like much to people who do not smoke and they would be right if as a homeowner I did not already pay 40% of my income just for taxes.  Where do you stop?  What happened to the Gambling percentage for Education?  How long before our legislators decide they have a surplus in the operating budget and they just have to spend it on something?  I don't care that you earmark something for a specific purpose Jefferson City is the place everything ends up.

Proposition B sounds good on paper and would be good if our legislators would leave it as it lies.  The problem with Proposition B and other forms of group taxes is the funds all go to the General Fund for the State.  Once there, no matter what the law says, the Legislators look to it as their funds and let us put it in our pockets.  GM needs help so we will make the National Guard buy new trucks. Really?  The trucks never got purchased as the Guard did not need them but the legislators pocketed the money by rerouting it through various political intrests.  Did GM get the help?  Most likely as they would get paid first then the Legislators would pocket the rest.  Did the Guard get any trucks?  No as they did not order any new trucks and would refuse to accept delivery.  Where did the money then go?  Back to the Legislators pockets to fund their political campaign.  The only group that is benefiting is our Legislators.

Proposition B good for our Economy or bad for the Economy?

You decide and comment.