Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:
On Mon, Feb 26, 2007 at 04:49:11PM -0600, Mike McCarty wrote:
There is also FET (Federal Excise Tax). That's what all the xxx.xx 9/10
comes from. It's a luxury tax (you didn't know that gasoline is a
luxury?). Just like the one passed in 1906 or thereabouts to pay for
the Mexican-American war. The luxury is long distance calls (for
britishers, that's trunk calls), the tax was an "emergency" one, and
was "only for the duration".
NEVER believe a politician when he says that a tax is "temporary".
I believe that was just repealed. At least I got a credit for it on my
taxes for long distance service since 2003 or something.
Like "temporary" toll roads. You know, the ones where the toll will
only be in place until the bonds issues to build the road are paid off?
Of coures, by then, the road needs widening and improvements and the
government is addicted to the revenue.
If that were true, US-101 across the Columbia River would still be toll, and
last summer I would have had a lot more toll receipts from Bridge of the
Gods, which for the first time in memory was toll-free last summer. I-5
from Portland, Ore to Vancouver, Wash. was once a toll road when the
Interstate Bridge was built, then the toll was lifted. It was instated
again a few years later to build the third and fourth spans to make the
highway dual carriageway, and once paid off the toll plaza closed once
again. Right now, it's looking like I-5 will close from Portland, Oregon
to Vancouver, Washington for about three years while the current Interstate
Bridges are bulldozed and something that passes earthquake and highway code
replaces it, which will inevitably reopen as a toll bridge (since pretty
much the only people that use the Oregon-owned span are Washingtonians[1]).
[1] I never understood why Vancouver is so proud of itself. Everything
costs more, the sales tax is 7% higher, and if you work in Oregon, you pay
Oregon income tax. Meanwhile if you work in Washington and live in Oregon,
you're exempt from Oregon income tax (since you made no Oregon income) and
Washington sales tax (Oregon residents do not pay sales tax in most states
on most purchases), you live pretty cheaply. Of course, that requires
getting a job in Washington, of which there are three.