April 14, 2004
No taxation without intoxication!
For the bet-you-didn't-know-that file, courtesy of Tyler Cowen:
At least 11 states, including Alabama, North Carolina and Nevada, tax people who possess illegal drugs. . .Clearly not a lot of deterrent value here. Perhaps they'll next start levying a tax on contract murders, burglary, and blackmail (hey, sounds like The Sopranos!) Full story along with some other odd taxes at CNN.In North Carolina, for instance, when you acquire an illegal drug (or even "moonshine"), you can go to the Department of Revenue and pay your tax, in exchange for which you'll receive stamps to affix to your illegal substance. . .
The majority of the $78.3 million the state has collected thus far has come from those who got busted and were found without stamps. But even if they had had stamps, it's not like their legal troubles would be over. "Purchasing stamps only fulfills your civil unauthorized substance tax obligation," according to the N.C. DOR Web site.
Posted by David on April 14, 2004 2:57 PM
Ah, Tax Romana, the good old days:
In the early days of the Roman Republic, public taxes consisted of modest assessments on owned wealth and property. The tax rate under normal circumstances was 1% and sometimes would climb as high as 3% in situations such as war. These modest taxes were levied against land, homes and other real estate, slaves, animals, personal items and monetary wealth. Taxes were collected from individuals and, at times, payments could be refunded by the treasury for excess collections. With limited census accuracy, tax collection on individuals was a difficult tax at best.
Revive the looting and pillaging concept, and who says we can't reduce the tax burden?
Posted by: Peter Shriner on April 14, 2004 11:20 PM
I happen to be the victim of one of these stupid laws. It was brand new (Jan. 1st) and I didn't even know about it. After we were busted, 6 days later they appeared on our doorstep with a bill for almost $60 THOUSAND!!! The drug war, I am assured, is ALL ABOUT MONEY!!!
Posted by: Robert on August 26, 2005 7:37 AM
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