In his 11 years in the Washington Legislature, Representative Mark Miloscia says he has supported all manner of methods to fill the state’s coffers, including increasing fees on property owners to help the homeless and taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, most of which, he said, passed “without a peep.”
And so it was last month that Mr. Miloscia, a Democrat, decided he might try to “find a new tax source” ”” pornography.
The response, however, was a turn-off.
“People came down on me like a ton of bricks,” said Mr. Miloscia, who proposed an 18.5 percent sales tax on items like sex toys and adult magazines. “I didn’t quite understand. Apparently porn is right up there with Mom and apple pie.”
Mr. Miloscia’s proposal died at the committee level, but he is far from the only legislator floating unorthodox ideas as more than two-thirds of the states face budget shortfalls.
[blockquote]In Nevada, State Senator Bob Coffin said he would introduce legislation to tax the state’s legal brothels, a fee that would be “based on the amount of activities.†And unlike the Washington porn proposal, which drew the ire of the adult entertainment industry, Mr. Coffin’s plan has the backing of the potential taxpayers, in this case brothel owners who employ women as independent contractors.
“I think they figure if they become part of the tax stream, the less vulnerable they will be to some shift in mores,†he said.[/blockquote]
Taxes are not popular but have been described as “the price we pay for civilization.” Unfortunately, taxes can legitimize.
Florida has been flirting with an additional cigarette tax of $1.00 per pack for the past year or so. Whether it will help or not is the question, and most legislators are so far opposed to it.
It follows logically that if we are to be true supporters of the esposed beliefs that we must to all we are able to support our government we must take up smoking if the state needs us to pay taxes on cigarettes, watch porn when the state taxes it, drink more liquor, beer and wine to keep the state coffers full, drive more to be sure gasoline taxes are collected, eat in fast food restaurants to feed the ‘dining out tax, kitty and be sure to play the lottery as often as possible. Since all these things are for the good of the children and the poor and, of course, provides the best way possible to support children and the poor, it is our civic duty to do all these things the brighter lights among us tell us is wrong because they support good things.
Anyone see anything not quite right with this picture?