# Temporary tax still temporary after almost 70 years **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 14, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465 "2005-07-14T03:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/1 "2005-07-14T03:49:58Z")
Each new day seems to reveal yet another way in which my dear home state is screwing me. A tax enacted on booze to offer relief to the victims of the 1936 Johnstown flood is [still on the books](http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/4711497/detail.html?subid=22100741&qs=1;bp=t) and feeding the state coffers. The original 10% tax, now up to 18% is the subject of a possible 3% reduction. Wow. How fucking generous of them. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/2 "2005-07-14T08:21:25Z")
How dare you. Who are you to say that those victims of the flood aren’t still suffering? That they don’t need our support? As an example, I give you Luther P. McFakename. Sometimes, when he’s alone at night, he swears that his house is _a little damp_. ☹ I’m sorry. I’m just too choked up to discuss this anymore. ☹☹ ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/3 "2005-07-14T11:02:51Z")
Very funny, Har. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/4 "2005-07-14T11:32:44Z")
It raised $200 million last year. Do you have that amount in specific spending cuts that you can propose to make up for the revenue loss? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/5 "2005-07-14T11:44:41Z")
We had a good one in New South Wales, Australia. In 1989 the State government introduced the **3X3 Levy** a 3c per litre levy on fuel for the next 3 years. They even put up signs around the highways telling us how mush good it would achieve in the next three years. In 2000 when the 3 year levy ceased the signs seemed pretty silly. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/6 "2005-07-14T11:44:54Z")
If you read the whole story, you’d see that the _cough_ great thing about the tax is that it goes into the general fund, neatly obviating the need to actually budget for its use. If specific (and current) uses aren’t a prerequisite for taking the money in the first place, why should specific cuts be a prerequisite for those proposing abolishment? You’d think the onus would be on those doing the taxing to justify what it’s for. \ ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/7 "2005-07-14T12:56:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It raised $200 million last year. Do you have that amount in specific spending cuts that you can propose to make up for the revenue loss? I say pick a card, any card. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/8 "2005-07-14T13:04:39Z")
It is proverbial in Eastern Europe: There is nothing so permanent as a temporary measure. It rolls of the tongue rather better in Russian, but don’t tell me I’m the only one who’s heard the saying? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/9 "2005-07-14T13:09:19Z")
I’ve heard it. This is exactly why people should be more in touch with their state and local governments…to provide accountability. Sunset provisions are all well and good but the weasels will go around them if people don’t pay attention. ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/10 "2005-07-14T13:54:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It raised $200 million last year. Do you have that amount in specific spending cuts that you can propose to make up for the revenue loss? Well, considering that the 2005-06 Pennsylvania State budget is [24.3 billion](http://www.issuespa.net/articles/13834/), I’m guessing that Pennsylvania could survive an across-the-board cut of 0.823%, if you didn’t want to get specific in your cuts. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/11 "2005-07-14T14:06:02Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > It is proverbial in Eastern Europe: There is nothing so permanent as a temporary measure. > > It rolls of the tongue rather better in Russian, but don’t tell me I’m the only one who’s heard the saying? I love it, I haven’t heard it in years. I used to work with a programmer from Russia who quoted it during enough lunchtimes that I used it for a few years and was pleasantly surprised to come across it in a Tom Clancy novel. Most tolls in NJ & NY were temporary to pay for the “Bridge”, “Tunnel” or “Road”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/12 "2005-07-14T14:30:37Z")
Right, the Port Authority was formed in the Twenties for the purpose of building a rail tunnel between Staten Island and Brooklyn. Eight decades later, they haven’t even started. There are many roads in the US that were built with toll booths to pay for the construction bonds. Many of those roads were paid off long ago, but are the tollbooths gone? (_John Belushi voice_) But no-o-o-o! I-95 in Connecticut is the only one I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/13 "2005-07-14T14:43:21Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > There are many roads in the US that were built with toll booths to pay for the construction bonds. Many of those roads were paid off long ago, but are the tollbooths gone? (_John Belushi voice_) But no-o-o-o! I-95 in Connecticut is the only one I know of. You can add the Boulder Turnpike between Boulder and Denver, but the booths on that were pulled over 30 years ago. I doubt they’d do it again today. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/14 "2005-07-14T14:48:41Z")
[anecdote, can’t be arsed to check my facts]Income tax was instituted over here to fund the Napoleonic War effort. It’s still here two centuries later [/acbatcmf] ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/15 "2005-07-14T15:00:39Z")
Same same with our income tax. It was for funding the War to End All Wars. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/16 "2005-07-14T15:11:34Z")
Governments always think they need more money. And, given a chance, they’ll take 120% of everything. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/17 "2005-07-14T15:14:43Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Same same with our income tax. It was for funding the War to End All Wars. Well, duh! There’s been _wars_ after that one. So we gotta keep feeding the military-industrial complex until, by gum, we actually have a War to End All Wars that sticks!! You know, I’m not sure what’s scarier. The implication that income tax is forever, or that maybe we actually _could_ have a War that Ends All Wars. :: shudder :: ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/18 "2005-07-14T15:16:53Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Right, the Port Authority was formed in the Twenties for the purpose of building a rail tunnel between Staten Island and Brooklyn. Eight decades later, they haven’t even started. > > There are many roads in the US that were built with toll booths to pay for the construction bonds. Many of those roads were paid off long ago, but are the tollbooths gone? (_John Belushi voice_) But no-o-o-o! I-95 in Connecticut is the only one I know of. Almost all of Kentucky’s parkways have had their tolls removed. The Natcher Parkway and the Audubon Parkway are the only two toll roads remaining in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/19 "2005-07-14T15:23:22Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Same same with our income tax. It was for funding the War to End All Wars. Not really, since the modern income tax was instituted in 1913. Also the year the 1040 form was introduced. The revenue acts of 1916, 1917, and 1918 just increased the rates. Although, these were drastically reduced back down once the war was over. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/20 "2005-07-14T15:34:29Z")
IIRC, income tax _withholding_ of wages started during WW II, and would not have likely been accepted by the population otherwise. > [@Liberal](#): > > Same same with our income tax. It was for funding the War to End All Wars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465.md?page=2)