One Cent Sales Tax

August 06, 2008

Yesterday I heard California was proposing another 1 cent sales tax to help balance the budget. Who could be against such a minuscule request for such a worthy cause? I don't even bend down to pick up pennies anymore.

Here's another way to look at it :

If we raise the sales tax from 7% to 8%, this represents an 11% increase in the sales tax. Why don't we name the proposition the "11% Sales Tax Increase" and see if it passes, instead of the "1-Cent Sales Tax Increase".

The higher the sales tax, the more incentive there is to avoid them, like buying stuff online from out of state. Often you can save enough in sales tax to pay your shipping cost. On top of that, you save the gas you would have used to drive somewhere to buy locally.

-- Greg