Obama puts in 15-cent tax on Christmas Trees

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/11/obama-institutes-new-christmas-tree-tax.html

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees, reports the Heritage Foundation.

Get this. The Christmas Tree tax will be used to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

How much more nutty can you get? Improve the image of the Christmas tree?

In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

Bottom line: Crony capitalism has reached the level of the Christmas tree. Will Santa Claus be next? The Christmas Tree Promotion Board will, of course, consist of Christmas tree farmers who make the largest contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party. Their first order of business will be to create regulations that will undercut small competitors and prevent others from entering the industry. It will be their last order of business, also.

 

In the United States between 35 and 40 million trees are sold during the Christmas season.

 

I'll show'em, I'm not buying a tree this year.

 

Get a Festivus pole!

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...1970s-rape-girl-7-priest-Wilfred-Baldwin.html

obama just making pr a palm tree...
just business.

 

the tax is probably actually for funding a program to give christmas trees to people already collecting unemployment and food stamps

 

X-mas tress for the OWS crowd in Zucotti Park.

 

And I thought the Constitution gave the power to tax ONLY to Congress.

Silly me.

 

Obama used the constitution for toilet paper.

 

It looks like Obama caved in and cancelled the Christmas Tree tax.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politic...tion-to-delay-new-15-cent-christmas-tree-fee/