Something about TAXING my FREEDOM rubs me the wrong way!
"Liquor sellers protest proposed alcohol tax; Fear lost business, Mass. livelihoods" by Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent | June 5, 2009
Members of the state's well-financed alcohol industry predicted yesterday that a potential sales tax increase on their product will hit them hard, almost as much as it might hurt the quintessential American consumer, Joe Six-Pack.
I don't drink alcohol.
A large group of liquor retailers and wholesalers, concerned about a budgetary proposal to lift the sales tax exemption on alcohol, gathered to protest the measure outside the State House.
The protest, organized by the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, sought to draw legislators' attention to fears that a tax hike will force consumers to seek cheaper alcohol and other goods in neighboring New Hampshire. The result, protestors said, would mean a loss of revenue and jobs.
Yup!
Related: Shove Your Sales Tax Increase, Massachusetts!
Already got the car motor running (I like to let it idle about 10 minutes to help with global warming).
With some holding white signs that read, "Fed-up with taxes" and "Massachusetts - The Economic Stimulus for New Hampshire," protesters cheered John Harrington, the owner of a Chelmsford liquor store, when he described the prospect of losing a large chunk of revenue from the business that funded his family's education.
"This is a tax upon a tax," he said, referring to the excise taxes distributors pay in lieu of the sales tax. Echoing his sentiment, some protestors held signs reading, "The Real Sin Is Double Taxation."
In May, the state Senate voted to increase the sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent, to try to generate millions of dollars to reduce cuts in services for the poor, elderly, and disabled. Lawmakers also voted to eliminate the tax exemption on alcohol sold in package stores, hoping to raise nearly $80 million, which could be used for substance abuse treatment services....
Yeah, right, and we want casinos here so we can fund anti-gambling programs!!
How 'toopid does youse thinks we's iz?
Btw, you want money?
I know just where to look:
Governor Guts State ServicesPigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Hollywood S***s on Massachusetts
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
How many times I gotta put 'em up?
Almost DRIVES ME to DRINK!!!
To illustrate statewide discontent with the possible tax increase, protest organizers collected more than 50,000 signatures from consumers in less than a week, Frank Anzalotti, executive director of Package Stores Association, told attendees....
Yeah, but somehow us Bay-Staters voted to keep the income tax by 70-30, so we are told.
STINK!
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