[Dixielandjazz] The stupidity of it all is amazing.

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

And we are the country founded by folks trying to escape the TAX MAN 
apparently we have not come a long way baby, they brought him with them.  In 
California we pay tax to breathe clean air that you can't cut with a chain saw on some 
days in some places.  We also pay tax to put ingredients into gasoline that 
are known to pollute the environment and cause cancer by the same folks who put 
the clean air tax on the books, Once they get one on they never seem to get it 
off.  I say enough already.  I see another Revolution coming and it is long 
overdue.   

Jeers, to them all, we should only have to pay SinTax, :))  That would still 
get them more money than they need.

Rev. Tom- Bob   Don't tax my religion
"First Church of Keep the Money"


February 22, 2005: 12:09 PM EST 
By Jeanne Sahadi and Les Christie, CNN/Money writers

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - History is littered with odd tax schemes. William Pitt 
the Younger introduced a tax on windows in Britain. Peter the Great taxed 
souls, and Nero, urine. 

Let no man say that we here in America cannot compete for oddity of tax laws. 
We have some really weird assessments on the books. 

In certain states and cities, you'll pay special taxes for buying a deck of 
cards, possessing illegal drugs, and, possibly, buying things from naked 
people. 


Here are a dozen peculiar state and local taxes, as noted by tax information 
publisher CCH Inc. and the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit tax policy research 
group. 

Illegal drug tax: On Jan. 1, Tennessee became the latest of 23 states to 
institute a tax for possession of illegal drugs. Usually, you have to be in 
possession of a minimum quantity, say over 42.5 grams of marijuana in North 
Carolina, to be subject to the tax. 

In Tennessee, when you acquire an illegal drug (even "moonshine"), you have 
48 hours to report to the Department of Revenue and pay your tax, in exchange 
for which you'll receive stamps to affix to your illegal substance. The stamps 
serve as evidence you paid the tax on the illegal product. 

Don't worry that you might get in trouble for admitting you have enough drugs 
to fuel a rave party for years. You need not provide identification to get 
the stamps and it's illegal for revenue employees to rat you out. 

Still, next door in North Carolina, which has had a similar law for 15 years, 
only 79 folks have voluntarily come forward since 1990, according to the 
Department of Revenue. Most were thought to be stamp collectors, or perhaps just 
high. Another 72,000 were taxed after they were already busted. 

North Carolina has collected $78.3 million thus far, almost all from those 
arrested and found without stamps. 

Flush tax: In 2004, Maryland began charging homeowners and businesses for 
producing wastewater. The funds will be used to help protect Chesapeake Bay 
waters. 

Maryland will add $2.50 a month to the sewer bills of residents hooked up to 
treatment systems. It will also assess an annual charge of $30 to homeowners 
with their own septic systems, even though many believe these residents add 
little to the stream of pollutants that have damaged the Chesapeake. 

Virginia appears poised to enact a similar flush tax of $1 a week per 
household. 

Sex sales tax: Sin got pricier in Utah last July, when owners of sexually 
explicit businesses where "nude or partially nude individuals perform any 
service" began paying a 10 percent sales and use tax on admission and user fees as 
well as the sales of merchandise, food, drink, and services. 

That would be on top of the 4.75 percent sales tax the state already imposes 
on most transactions, sexually explicit or not. Not that the measure will 
raise much money. So far only one or two businesses in staid Utah are actually 
wild enough to be subjected to the tax. 

Jock tax: This is a tax on income earned by athletes, entertainers (OK, not 
just jocks), and their various entourages, including non-athletic or 
non-performer employees. Generally, any money player or performer earns while playing in 
that particular city or state gets taxed. 

California levied the first jock tax in 1991, on athletes from Chicago, right 
after the Chicago Bulls beat the L.A. Lakers. (Chicago quickly responded in 
kind.) Today, most states with a professional sports team impose a jock tax. 

William Ahern, of the Tax Foundation, said a DC United soccer player received 
tax forms from 10 different states. The player was no Alex Rodriguez. "The 
guy makes $26,000 a year," says Ahearn. "The jock taxes he owed varied from $200 
to $2." 

Sparkler and novelties tax: In West Virginia, businesses selling sparklers 
and novelties pay a special fee on top of the state's 6 percent sales tax. The 
novelties, according to the West Virginia State Tax Department's information 
sheet on sparklers and novelties, include: Explosive caps designed to be fired 
in toy pistols; snake and glow worms and; trick noisemakers which produce a 
small report designed to surprise the user. 

Playing card tax: If you want a deck of cards in Alabama, be prepared to 
shell out an extra dime. The state government has levied a 10-cent tax on the 
purchase of a playing deck that contains "no more than 54 cards," plus the 
retailer must pay an annual license tax of $3 and a fee of $1, according to the 
Alabama Department of Revenue. 

Blueberry tax: Like fresh, wild blueberries? If they come from Maine, you may 
be paying a bit of a premium. Anyone who grows, purchases, sells, handles or 
processes the fruit in the state is subject to a penny-and-a-half-per-pound 
tax. 

Wagering tax: Speaking of cards – and bets – most people know they have to 
pay tax on their gambling winnings. But some places, including Pennsylvania, 
West Virginia, Illinois, and Oklahoma, exact a wagering tax on casino or track 
owners, whether you gamble or not. It can get passed onto customers through the 
cost of casino amusements. 

Illinois forces casinos to charge a $2 admission price, which is essentially 
a tax since it must be remitted to the city and state. 

Fur clothing tax: Keeping comfy during Minnesota winters can cost you. 
Businesses in the state must pay a 6.5 percent tax on the total amount received for 
the sale, shipping, and finance charges associated with the purchase of 
clothing in which fur accounts for three times more of the garment than the next 
most valuable material. 

Most types of clothing in Minnesota are sales-tax-free, so if you want to 
keep warm switch to "leather, suede, or other animal skins where the hair, fleece 
or fur fiber is completely removed," as the Minnesota Department of Revenue 
Fur Clothing Tax instructions form puts it, 

Fountain soda drink tax: This one hails from Chicago. If you buy a "fountain 
soda drink," you'll pay a 9 percent tax. If you buy the same soda in a bottle 
or a can, you'll only pay 3 percent. 

Amusement tax: Ever wondered about the extra tax you pay on stadium seats? 
That's the amusement tax, often levied at both city and state levels. Most 
states, including Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland, and cities like New 
Orleans, have amusement taxes on tickets sold at any venue with more than 750 to 
1,000 seats. 

Amusing, isn't it? 

Tattoo tax: As of last July, anyone in Arkansas wanting to get a eagle etched 
on their abs or a nose ring notched in their nostrils will have to pay an 
additional 6 percent, as the state included tattooing and body piercing in its 
list of services subject to sales taxes. Electrolysis treatments count, too. 

To make this a baker's dozen, we'll throw in a freebie: Tennessee imposes a 
litigation tax. The tax varies with the offense, with the cheapest being $1 for 
a metered parking violation. 

No sum is too small for the tax man.