CA Democratic Legislators Seek to Tax Internet Sales and Sodas
Thursday seemed to be a banner day for Democrats in the California State Senate to attempt to raise people’s taxes. On the very same day, a tax on sodas was proposed, and a bill to tax Internet sales was passed in the state’s upper house.
State Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) proposed taxing sodas sold in California at a rate of a penny per teaspoon of sugar. For the average can of soda, that would add an extra nine or 10 cents to the amount that consumers would have to pay. The idea is to take the extra money, estimated at $1.5 billion per year, and divert it to help fund prevention programs.
Apparently, Mr. Florez does not believe in the California Constitution. Article XIII, Section 34 states:
Neither the State of California nor any of its political subdivisions shall levy or collect a sales or use tax on the sale of, or the storage, use or other consumption in this State of food products for human consumption except as provided by statute as of the effective date of this section.
To me, this seems to suggest that such a tax on soda would be illegal. But the legality of an issue seems to have absolutely no bearing on whether Democrats will attempt to pass bad legislation. So, let’s look at the basic notion behind the tax.
The idea is that sugary sodas lead to increased weight gain on the part of people in California. Clearly, the Democrats don’t want people to be obese. (Democrats don’t like fat people.) They feel that it is the proper role of government to step in and attempt to dictate what people choose to eat. Instead of trusting in individuals to make rational choices on their own, they seem to feel like the average citizen is either ignorant or too stupid to be able to decide what they want to put into their bodies. Remember, we are not talking about illegal drugs or anything like that here. We are talking about soda. Democrats are acting like the government is so smart that they should be in the business of regulating what foods and beverages people consume. They understand that they cannot outright ban sodas (or at least, doing so would not be politically popular), so they want to impose a sin tax on it, making it more expensive. They believe that making soda more expensive will cause fewer people to buy it, thus achieving their dream of limiting what sorts of “unhealthy” foods that people eat.
Quite frankly, I don’t think that government officials are very smart. I would be hard pressed to point at anything that the government does well. With such a poor track record, why should I start believing that an all-powerful, omnipotent government will make the right decisions for me? I believe in allowing citizens to choose which legal products they wish to consume. If they want to eat healthy, good for them. If they want to eat unhealthy foods, that fine as well. But don’t try to infringe on my right to choose what I want to consume. Part of the beauty of America is that, as long as we don’t hurt others, we have the liberty to do what we want.
On the same day that Florez proposed his tax on soda, the California Senate passed a bill that would require online retailers to charge sales tax on purchases in California. Such a tax on internet sales is expected to raise $107 million a year for the state. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to veto the measure when Democrats proposed it last year, and it stalled in committee. But Democrats reintroduced on Thursday in a tax enforcement bill that was part of a $5 billion budget package moving through the Legislature.
The ironic thing in all of this is that the Democrats always claim to be on the side of the “little guy”. But both the soda tax and the internet tax will hurt lower and middle class people more than the rich. An extra couple of cents for a can of soda or having to pay sales tax on internet purchases can easily be managed by those with large incomes. It is the people in the poor and middle class who will feel the pinch of these new taxes the most. When you are already scrimping and saving just to make ends meet, every penny counts. How the Democrats can continue to claim to be looking out for the interests of the poor and middle class and, at the same time, propose additional taxes that will hurt those very same people astounds me.
It seems like I have already made an endless number of blog posts about how much California legislators love to increase taxes. But I need to hammer home the point that, if California voters continue to elect Democrats into office, that will only serve to increase the amount of taxes that residents of the Golden State will have to pay. I don’t know about you, but I like money. I like earning money, and I want to be able to keep the money that I earn. Whenever the government decides to raise taxes, that irritates me.
If the Legislature is having a difficult time balancing the state’s budget, the answer is not to continually devise new ways of taxing people. Instead, cut spending in non-essential programs. At the same time, implement programs (reduced regulations, lower taxes) that will revitalize business within the state and spur economic growth. Increased economic activity will lower the state’s unemployment rate and increase tax revenue flowing into California’s coffers.
Please visit my official campaign website at:
www.Shahab2010.com