Monday, November 9, 2009

"Temporary" Taxes

A great example here of why you should always throw fits whenever the legislature wants to pass a "temporary" tax.

The Johnstown Flood Emergency Tax
As a result of the damage from the 1936 flood, the Pennsylvania General Assembly imposed an emergency tax on all alcohol sold in the Commonwealth. The "temporary" 10% tax was initially intended to help pay for clean up, recovery, and assistance to flood victims. The tax was never repealed and in 1963 the tax was raised to 15% and again in 1968 to 18% (not including the statewide 6% sales tax). The nearly $200 million collected annually no longer goes to flood victims, however, instead going into the general fund for discretionary use by lawmakers.

2 comments:

オテモヤン said...
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Home on the Range said...

There's a highway in my home state that was to have a "temporary" toll until the road was paid for. That was about 10 years ago. They're still collecting it.