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Comments on news posted 2008-02-08 09:30:04: Los Angeles this week passed a controversial new tax that should impact city VoIP users, reports the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. ..

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FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 recommendation

FFH5

Premium Member

It was approved by the moron voters

The BBR story neglected to mention that the voters approved this law on election day.
With all precincts reporting this morning, 66 percent of voters supported the measure. It needed a simple majority to pass.
I'll bet these same morons will be complaining about paying taxes on their internet connections and blaming the telcos and cable companies for adding a new FEE to their bills.

Tokidoki
Premium Member
join:2002-08-26
South Richmond Hill, NY

Tokidoki

Premium Member

wow. If that is the case, do people even bother to check what they are voting for these days?

Hope these people don't bitch and moan about it.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

How was it worded on the ballet?

Did they use deceiving language? Did they mention the word's "fair" in reference to "alternative" telephone services "shall pay their fair share of taxes"? If they worded it straight up, I question whether or not the general public would understand what they were "approving".

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 recommendation

FFH5 to Tokidoki

Premium Member

to Tokidoki

Re: It was approved by the moron voters

said by Tokidoki:

wow. If that is the case, do people even bother to check what they are voting for these days?
I doubt it. I vote against bond issues year after year. These same bond issues are usually passed by 80% approval percentages. But year after year, Jersey voters keep complaining that their taxes are way too high. Somehow, they never seem able to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that their taxes are being used to pay off these bond issues they keep approving.

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

boo!


horrible idea.

jimbo48
join:2000-11-17
Asheville, NC

jimbo48

Member

Tax and bleed us Dry

Glad to see that the vampires in LA have found yet another way to feed their habit. Now they will have to enlist the aid of your ISP to collect their extortion money.
Typical of tax and spend liberal social engineers and politicians.
The consumer is forced to continually pay and pay and pay. This ongoing TAX hikes scenarios is illegal and the lawyers know it. They use false information to hide the fact that they foisted a tax hike on the public NOT a tax cut. Look at the math: I'd much rather take 9% of a 100.00 base than 10% of 50.00 base. The increased base is due to them grouping any form of communication as taxable. Wonder when they are going to tax free speech-tax the contributors to newspapers. The public could raise a lot of money by taxing the politicians lies and broken promises and recovering the wasted money from kickbacks pay-offs and bribes as well as all the lobby money and the trips to foreign "sister cities". No wonder LA is beginning to smell more and more like a cesspool- a lot more crap is floating than ever before.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to rradina

Premium Member

to rradina

Re: How was it worded on the ballet?

said by rradina:

Did they use deceiving language? Did they mention the word's "fair" in reference to "alternative" telephone services "shall pay their fair share of taxes"? If they worded it straight up, I question whether or not the general public would understand what they were "approving".
You can read it here:
»www.smartvoter.org/2008/ ··· /meas/S/

woody7
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA

2 edits

woody7

Premium Member

hhmm....

"It was approved by the moron voters"

The politicians that want to be all things to all people can't make the hard decisions that they were elected for,like cut spending. The "fud" was all over the tv about what would happen if it doesn't pass. Teary eyed cops and firemen,supporting (most don't live in Los Angeles) so it won't affect them anyway, then they blame Prop 13 cause they can't raise taxes. what choice do the voters have? Peace

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode to rradina

News Guy

to rradina

Re: How was it worded on the ballet?

REDUCTION OF TAX RATE AND MODERNIZATION OF COMMUNICATIONS USERS TAX. Shall an ordinance be adopted to reduce the City’s tax on communications users from 10% to 9%; modernize the ordinance to treat taxpayers equally regardless of technology used; exempt low-income senior-citizen and disabled households; to fund general municipal services, such as 911, police, fire protection, street maintenance, parks and libraries; subject to an annual independent audit?

jimbo48
join:2000-11-17
Asheville, NC

jimbo48 to rradina

Member

to rradina
Has a politician EVER used "straight up" language to convince the public to tax themselves even more. No they cite things like decreased spending on "the children" reduced police , fire and social services. Then they figure out a way to siphon off the enhanced tax revenues to pay off their debts for getting reelected etc. Read the various bond issues and tax rate increase proposals. This is what four years of Law school generates. The ability to hide the truth with legalese that is meant to obscure the true impact.

DataDoc
My avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
Premium Member
join:2000-05-14
Hedgesville, WV
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DataDoc

Premium Member

How far do you think the voters read?

I say this far:
"REDUCTION OF TAX RATE AND MODERNIZATION OF COMMUNICATIONS USERS TAX. Shall an ordinance be adopted to reduce the City’s tax on communications users from 10% to 9%; modernize the ordinance to treat taxpayers equally regardless of technology used; exempt low-income senior-citizen and disabled households; to fund general municipal services, such as 911, police, fire protection, street maintenance, parks and libraries; subject to an annual independent audit?"

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

1 recommendation

pnh102 to woody7

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to woody7

Re: hhmm....

said by woody7:

what choice do the voters have? Peace
To not vote for stupid tax hikes.
raythompsontn
join:2001-01-11
Oliver Springs, TN

1 edit

raythompsontn

Member

All Communications

It would appear that they way the law is worded that all forms of communication will be treated equally regardless of the technology used.

So a couple of kids make a tin can and string communications system. They are reported using such a system in the park while playing and don't have a proper tax stamp. Law enforcement is called and SWAT shows up. The two offending children are arrested on tax fraud charges and are now placed in a foster home for the criminally inclined. The pleas of the parents are ignored. The judge in the case uses the precident setting example of the lemonade stand that was not collecting the proper sales tax. Such tax evasion cannot be allowed to continue unabated the judge remarked. A valuable lesson has been taught to this children.

Don't even think about sending an SOS with a flashlight as that communications must also be taxed according to the law.
cahusker
join:2005-05-19
Westminster, CA

cahusker

Member

La phone tax

The real killer is this was an illegal tax that should have been taken off the books many years ago. So the left wingers that run LA decided to sell it as a tax decrease even though without the vote the entire 10% tax was going to be repealed.
Now as far as I know this applies to the city of LA only and not the state of Ca..

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to FFH5

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to FFH5

Re: It was approved by the moron voters

said by FFH5:

But year after year, Jersey voters keep complaining that their taxes are way too high. Somehow, they never seem able to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that their taxes are being used to pay off these bond issues they keep approving.
If only such problems could be contained to states which have a majority of idiots who vote for tax hikes. Many of these people in New York, New Jersey and California (and this is certainly not an exhaustive list) eventually get tired of the tax hikes and move out.

Of course, they move to states with lower taxes. Then they continue to vote for the same boneheadedness that caused their taxes to shoot through the roof where they used to live. The end result of course is they ruin the new place for everyone else.

In other words, they pee in the new pool that they moved into.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

1 edit

Dogfather

Premium Member

Thanks to the Unions

They ran commercials 24/7 acting like the city will burn to the ground and all the police officers would have to be fired if they didn't get this money.

The city is always 1 tax away from being saved from total destruction.
Dogfather

Dogfather to DataDoc

Premium Member

to DataDoc

Re: How far do you think the voters read?

It depends on whether the voter guide is in English or Spanish.
45071419 (banned)
join:2006-07-30

45071419 (banned) to Tokidoki

Member

to Tokidoki

Re: It was approved by the moron voters

said by Tokidoki:

wow. If that is the case, do people even bother to check what they are voting for these days?

Hope these people don't bitch and moan about it.
Whatever 30 second TV spot is the most convincing, the people vote for. In this case the ads duped the people into thinking they were getting a real tax decrease. You should have seen the conflicting Indian gaming ads.

But, have you ever read the full text of these measures/etc? They full of language that you can't even interpret, so you don't really know what you are fully voting for in many of cases, or what the full impact really is.

Now the bonds, people should know better. You can't spend money you don't have.

DataDoc
My avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
Premium Member
join:2000-05-14
Hedgesville, WV
·StarLink
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DataDoc to Dogfather

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to Dogfather

Re: How far do you think the voters read?

said by Dogfather:

It depends on whether the voter guide is in English or Spanish.
Probably both.

jimbo48
join:2000-11-17
Asheville, NC

jimbo48 to Karl Bode

Member

to Karl Bode

Re: How was it worded on the ballot?

Looks discriminatory to me based on age, income and physical disability to me.
I'm not a low income Senior citizen nor am I disabled (yet) so this tax would be discrimination against me, a violation of Federal law but it would never be considered because the courts would refuse to consider it.
You think for one minute that this revenue is going to go to all these social amenities and services? Hell no the politicians will gobble the added revenues up faster than they can be generated to fund their pet projects, pay for their high maintenance lifestyles. These same politicos will be back to the pig trough asking for more and more.
People will not be able to retire and live in California and we'll see another round of feel good laws passed (a 21st century Prop 13 all over again)so that the senior citizens homes won't be lost to the host of taxes in place.
Taxes are necessary to maintain a society and as a society we are responsible to pay a "fair" share. Cut the waste, the graft, the pork out of the system, then determine whats really needed.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to jimbo48

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to jimbo48

Re: How was it worded on the ballet?

said by jimbo48:

Has a politician EVER used "straight up" language to convince the public to tax themselves even more.
At least in California they don't need to. The powers-that-be in the San Francisco area want to use that mythical man-made global warming hoax to convince the voters there to allow for a 10 cent "global warming reduction fee" to be added to the gas tax.

»www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/a ··· politics
pnh102

pnh102 to DataDoc

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to DataDoc

Re: How far do you think the voters read?

said by DataDoc:
said by Dogfather:

It depends on whether the voter guide is in English or Spanish.
Probably both.
People ended up voting for Rico Suave.

jjoshua
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ

jjoshua

Premium Member

Who is going to collect the tax?

Is the VOIP company that doesn't have an office in CA expected to collect this tax and forward it to L.A.?

jimbo48
join:2000-11-17
Asheville, NC

jimbo48 to DataDoc

Member

to DataDoc

Re: How far do you think the voters read?

gotta throw in Vietnamese,Chinese,Tagalog, Arabic and other languages based on population densities. These politicians don't want to ignore the very people that vote for these taxes by just printing in English.
Wonder when they are going to institute nuisance taxes on California (LA voters) for contributing to global warming be breathing out carbon dioxide and depleting the oxygen? Or a road tax for the audacity to drive or ride a vehicle walk or otherwise utilize/consume public resources, thus contributing to the need for added revenues. Or tax the people for reading a book a the library (if and when its open)or heaven forbid, need the police, fire or social services. After all by calling them you are taking them away form their responsibility to protect the "public"
Hmmm...Think of it!!!
10.00 charge to report a fire
15.00 charge to report a burglary in progress
250.00 charge for witnessing a murder
250.00 refund - for being the murderer.

pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium Member
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA

pokesph to jjoshua

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to jjoshua

Re: Who is going to collect the tax?

said by jjoshua:

Is the VOIP company that doesn't have an office in CA expected to collect this tax and forward it to L.A.?
you know.. I was thinking the same thing.. I sure as hell wouldn't pay any extra taxes to company that has no presence in LA or Cali at all.

How would a out of city /state / country company even know LA passed this tax?

La Luna
Fly With The Angels My Beloved Son Chris
Premium Member
join:2001-07-12
New Port Richey, FL

La Luna to jjoshua

Premium Member

to jjoshua
said by jjoshua:

Is the VOIP company that doesn't have an office in CA expected to collect this tax and forward it to L.A.?
Most likely. That's why the bills of people who use the same VoIP service vary somewhat....different taxes based on the state they live in.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather to jimbo48

Premium Member

to jimbo48

Re: How far do you think the voters read?

They already charge people for owning burglar alarms (in addition to huge false alarm fees which It think are justified).

RainWind7
join:2000-10-20
Van Wert, OH

RainWind7

Member

Good idea

Sounds like a good idea to me. They've always taxed voice lines, and its a good source of income. As long as our government is as bloated as it is they're going to continue to need a lot of funding. Might as well put taxes on services such as broadband, VoIP, and the like if the need arises and they can't manage to make budget cuts to cover their need for money.

They're going to get the money somehow. Better that they tax goods/services than just take it straight out of your paycheck in the form of state/local taxes. The government will always find a way to get the money it needs even if they have to pry it from your cold, dead, hands... estate tax FTL.

I see nothing evil about taxing all voice service users equally.

Personally, I'd rather see the majority of taxes and government itself go away. Its too bloated in its current form, and they take too much money and spend it or give it away without any care or thought.

bigunk
Gort, Klattu Birada Nikto
join:2001-02-10
USA

bigunk to cahusker

Member

to cahusker

Re: La phone tax

Right you are. Think about this folks...There will never Ever EVER be a tax reduction on any ballot, only tax increases. Period.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102 to FFH5

Member

to FFH5

Re: How was it worded on the ballet?

quote:
Apply the tax equally to all communications technologies, including new and emerging technologies; and
Which is why I'm glad that I live outside of L.A. city limits. LAUSD is another L.A. failure.
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