Happy 2008! Here Are Your New Taxes

[BPSCG]

Here's what we're getting in Virginia, allegedly in the name of giving us better roads (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123100882_pf.html).

A "congestion relief fee," or grantor's tax, of 40 cents per $100 of assessed valuation on the sale price of a house. The seller will be responsible for the fee. For a $500,000 home, the extra charge would be $2,000.Here in Alexandria, the real estate tax rate is about $0.81 per $100 of valuation. So this tax amounts to a 50% surcharge on your first year's property taxes.


A 1 percent "initial registration fee" based on the sale price of a vehicle. If a vehicle is bought from a dealer, the fee will be part of the purchase; if a vehicle is bought privately, regardless of where, the fee will be paid when the car is registered. For a $25,000 car, the fee would be $250.I wasn't planning on buying a car this year, but if I were, I suppose it would be a good thing I live only five or so miles from the Maryland border.

A $10 annual regional registration fee for all vehicles.They left out the word "additional" above, since we have to pay to register our cars anyway.

A $10 annual safety inspection fee for all vehicles.Ditto. Inspections have never been free.

A 5 percent sales tax on auto repairs. Warranty work will be exempt.
A 2 percent car rental tax, adding about 80 cents to a $40-a-day vehicle.
A 2 percent hotel room tax, adding about $2.40 to a $125-a-night room.Ditto on the last two items. Hotels and rental cars have always been heavily taxed.

And just in case anyone thinks the above isn't enough:
The General Assembly also gave Northern Virginia governments the option of increasing the tax rate on shopping centers, office buildings and other commercial property by as much as 25 cents for each $100 of assessed value.That's a tax on consumers, since businesses don't pay taxes; they raise prices to offset the extra expense. Or they go out of business.

I'm sure this pattern of Happy New Year Taxes is being repeated around the country. What do the rest of y'all have?

[mr rosewater]

Our governor raised our sales tax from 6% to 7% about a year ago, many of the taxes you mention were raised in 2002. This year he wanted to sell or lease our toll roads, but that didn't poll well so now he's about to tour the state with a new plan to keep the toll roads,(which are already heavily borrowed against), raise the tolls borrow against this raise, spend some on transportation and rest will go to secure the votes he'll need for the next election. Did I mention we're about 100 billion in debt?

[Tsukasa Buddha]

And what new services do these taxes get us?

...

*chirp*

[WildCat]

I wasn't planning on buying a car this year, but if I were, I suppose it would be a good thing I live only five or so miles from the Maryland border.
How would buying it in Maryland help you? You'd still have to register it in Virginia.

[shemp]

And what new services do these taxes get us?

...

*chirp*

They don't pay for new services. They pay for the debt on the services you already have.

[rjh01]

I do not think we in Australia had any new taxes for 2008. Not at the Federal level anyway. The taxes we do have are from memory
1. Income tax. Up to 46% marginal rate. 30% on anything over $20,000. Zero at below $6,000.
2. 10% GST on most goods and services. Food and medical are about the only major exemptions.
3. Stamp tax on major transactions, such as car purchase and house transactions.
4. Land tax.
5. Company tax of 30%. However when a company pays a dividend it says it paid so much company tax. The dividend + the company tax paid is part of our income, however we can claim the company tax back from the government. So that if your marginal tax rate is 30% you pay no extra tax on dividends. This means that most companies will pay 3 - 6% of their worth as dividends every year.
6. Almost forgot. There is a tax on petrol. Petrol is about $1.40 per litre.

[BPSCG]

How would buying it in Maryland help you? You'd still have to register it in Virginia.There's a very simple explanation for why I wrote that, which involves shiraz, Irish cream, and champagne.

[WildCat]

There's a very simple explanation for why I wrote that, which involves shiraz, Irish cream, and champagne.
See, that's why I didn't post until last night. NYE for me gets pretty fuzzy (actually my memory fades completely!) after the absinthe started flowing...

[BPSCG]

See, that's why I didn't post until last night. NYE for me gets pretty fuzzy (actually my memory fades completely!) after the absinthe started flowing...You should take lessons from DanishDynamite, who seems to have made an art of posting while drunk.

Actually, I was quite sober and not at all hung over when I posted that. But I was also a little sleep-deprived, having not turned out the light until 2:00 am and being awoken at 5:00 by Samoa, the cat from hell, for her morning feeding...

[madurobob]

And what new services do these taxes get us?

...

*chirp*
Well, this should heat things up a bit...

New taxes are sometimes not meant to be big revenue generators, with that revenue used to fund an actual service. Rather they can rightfully be used to deter behavior the legislature deems inappropriate or harmful or to motivate behavior they see as proper - the incremental revenue being a nice side effect. Most of the VA taxes BPSCG lists look like they fit this category. My guess is VA expects to slow the sprawl at least marginally - probably to give the planning departments time to catch up and properly plan for growth.

Bah - just kidding! They probably need to fill the hole created by the lottery shell game and these taxes were the easiest to sell. Who would vote against and anti-congestion bill?

[geni]

The other posibility is that they are looking to cover themselves agaist expected increased in both tax evasion and avoidance.

[NoZed Avenger]

New tax according to the radio in Austin: $5 door charge for all strip clubs, beginning January 1st. However, I personally (based on zero minutes of research) do not feel that this is actuall designed to generate revenue.

Supposedly this new tax is pay for costs to the government associated with violence against women, but what it looks like is an attempt to hurt these types of businesses enough to shut some or all of them down before the 1st Amendment appeals get to the appellate/S Ct level.

Call me cynical.

[Skibum]

I live one county too far south to be covered by the increases. Damn. :cool:

[Tricky]

But you can easily pay for all these taxes and "fees" with the money the Republicans saved you with their income tax cut, right?

[Ranb]

The tax for $20 silencers I make for my rifles has stayed the same; $200. :)

Ranb

[Beerina]

On the positive side, the Alternative Minimum Tax is gone, for 2008 at least:

In January, with much preening, House Democrats embraced "paygo," the pay-as-you-go rule that any tax cut must be "paid for" by compensatory tax increases or spending cuts. In December, Democrats abandoned it because of the alternative minimum tax.

The AMT was enacted in 1969 as an indignation gesture aimed at fewer than 200 rich people who managed, legally, to owe no taxes. But the enactors neglected to index the AMT against inflation, so this year it would have been a $50 billion bite out of 23 million taxpayers. The House voted to repeal it and pay for repeal with a $50 billion tax increase. Senate Republicans argued that no Congress ever intended the AMT to collect such large sums. Therefore, paygo would siphon $50 billion to compensate for a fictitious $50 billion. The Senate voted 88-5 not to collect the AMT this year, the House acquiesced.

From a late-December column (http://www.sacbee.com/will/story/585747.html) (requires free registration)

[Just thinking]

My avatar tells you where I live; hence I don't have to wait a whole year for my taxes to go up.

[frank462]

This list is a little dated and not meant to be all inclusive. But I think you get the idea.

TAXES

Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes are the rule.

Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze, tax his beers,
If he cries, tax his tears.

Tax his bills, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him til he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.

Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"
And when he's gone, we won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX,

[hey-maybe you'll get a refund ?]

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and
local surcharge taxes
Telephone mi nimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Toll Tunnel Taxes
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer Registration Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

.

[Tricky]

This list is a little dated and not meant to be all inclusive. But I think you get the idea.

TAXES

Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
...<snip>
Don't forget to use attribution, lest someone think you wrote this and nominate you.

BTW, the grammar police will remind you that it would be
"Tax his bed in which he lies."

(Unless, of course, he is producing eggs in his bed.)

[frank462]

Don't forget to use attribution, lest someone think you wrote this and nominate you.

BTW, the grammar police will remind you that it would be
"Tax his bed in which he lies."

(Unless, of course, he is producing eggs in his bed.)

Hi Tricky,
Thanks for the reminder. I did not write this and I don't know who did. Therefore I don't deserve any credit for it. I also don't deserve any blame for the grammar errors. :D

[Beerina]

The seller will be responsible for the fee.

An accounting gimmick. But par for the course for politicians.

You don't see a line item of +$40/1000. It's embedded in the price itself.