The proposed15-cent fee on Christmas trees, roundly described as a Grinchey move by the Obama administration, has now been scrapped.
The fee, which was originally set to take effect earlier this month, was intended to fund an ad campaign to promote fresh-cut Christmas trees over their fake-tree alternatives.
The National Christmas Tree Association strongly supported the fee, which it requested in 2009 and said “is designed to benefit the industry” similar to how the “Got Milk?” campaign benefits the dairy industry and the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” advertisements promote the livestock industry.
The association said the fee “is not expected to have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree.”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/grinchey-christmas-tree-tax-now-delayed-indefinitely/
The entire thing is just so communist and oppressive. How dare anyone propose .15 cent tax on something a family buys once a year to aid an industry? Communists are always trying to help business out and everything and it should stop. Businesses shouldn't be lobbying for stuff like this and no tax dollars should be used to aid an industry.
"All told, the federal government gave $123 billion in tax incentives to corporations in 2010, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, with breaks for groups and people as diverse as Nascar track owners, mohair producers, hedge fund managers, chicken farmers, automakers and oil companies."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/technology/rich-tax-breaks-bolster-video-game-makers.html?pagewanted=all
Let's start with the oil companies and then move on from there. Then we can move to the wasteful military spending, another form of corporate welfare. We can make some real progress on budget problems this way.
