# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/21 "2005-07-14T17:04:18Z")
> [@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? Flood relief. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/22 "2005-07-14T17:33:18Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Governments always think they need more money. And, given a chance, they’ll take 120% of everything. It’s \*all \* their money–they just let us play with it sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/23 "2005-07-15T02:28:05Z")
Toll roads in Illinois were expected to ‘go away’ after some set time period. They recently _doubled_ all tolls for cash-paying customers. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/24 "2005-07-15T03:01:49Z")
Hooray! I found something to be mad about! I’m a victim! I’m the opressed. Powerful and invisible forces have conspired against me. The fact that I lived to post this shows my pluck courage in the face of insurmountable odds. “THEY” have done other things to me that I’m not aware of yet but I"ll get an email about that tomorrow. You know who proposed that tax? Jane Fonda ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/25 "2005-07-15T03:16:27Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > 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”. And prison motgages. Don’t forget the prison mortgages. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/26 "2005-07-15T04:27:37Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > 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. Yeah and you know how they got around it? By targeting out of state drivers. I got a ticket last week driving down to FL. I was going MAYBE 65 in a 55 and the cop says I was doing 76. PURELY BY COINCIDENCE, 76 MPH is the lowest you can speed and get a ticket, if I had been clocked at 75 I’d have gotten no fine! Riiiiight. Fuckers, I guess it’s the only way they can get people to spend money in their godforsaken state. ::apologies to Kentuckians, I’m sure it’s lovely. but I’ll never drive through it again:: ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/27 "2005-07-15T04:28:38Z")
FYI the ticket was for $186.50. I could appeal it IN PERSON ONLY…grrrr ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/28 "2005-07-15T04:36:27Z")
There is still a tax on telephone service that was enacted to help fund the Spanish American War. Haj ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/29 "2005-07-15T08:21:13Z")
Well, it’s the Pit, so I guess I can make a mention of Rush Limbaugh. (Note: haven’t heard the show in a few years now, so take it FWIW) I distinctly remember him state that nobody could cite a tax created that was ever repealed. It really made an impression, I guess, as I’m still looking for even one case. Have there been taxes repealed? Not reduced in percentage or formula…eh, off to start a new thread 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/30 "2005-07-15T08:30:20Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > It really made an impression, I guess, as I’m still looking for even one case. [😃](http://www.freecolorado.com/2003/11/littleton.html) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/31 "2005-07-15T10:10:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There is still a tax on telephone service that was enacted to help fund the Spanish American War. > > Haj The Congressional Joint Tax Committee wants to expand it now to cover Internet connections. [http://news.com.com/Congress+proposes+tax+on+all+Net,+data+connections/2100-1028\_3-5555385.html](http://news.com.com/Congress+proposes+tax+on+all+Net,+data+connections/2100-1028_3-5555385.html) ---
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/32 "2005-07-15T13:08:21Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Well, it’s the Pit, so I guess I can make a mention of Rush Limbaugh. (Note: haven’t heard the show in a few years now, so take it FWIW) > > I distinctly remember him state that nobody could cite a tax created that was ever repealed. It really made an impression, I guess, as I’m still looking for even one case. > > Have there been taxes repealed? Not reduced in percentage or formula…eh, off to start a new thread 🙂 The first first income tax we had in this country was imposed to pay for the Civil war. It was repealed after that war ended. I have no doubt that with a little research/googling I could come up with a number of additional examples. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/33 "2005-07-15T13:21:20Z")
This reminds me. I heard a few years ago that there was a “temporary”, hundred-year-old tax on everyone’s telephone bill to pay for something that had to do with a disaster back then. I’m not sure, but I think it might have been the _General Slocum_ excursion boat tragedy in NYC, and I don’t remember if the money was being collected for relief efforts, or for the monument. Does anyone know if this still is happening? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/34 "2005-07-15T19:16:05Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Yeah and you know how they got around it? By targeting out of state drivers. I got a ticket last week driving down to FL. I was going MAYBE 65 in a 55 and the cop says I was doing 76. PURELY BY COINCIDENCE, 76 MPH is the lowest you can speed and get a ticket, if I had been clocked at 75 I’d have gotten no fine! Riiiiight. > Fuckers, I guess it’s the only way they can get people to spend money in their godforsaken state. > ::apologies to Kentuckians, I’m sure it’s lovely. but I’ll never drive through it again:: Hmm… July 4th week. Yeah, they’re gonna get you for speeding, and if it was 55 on a parkway you were almost surely in a work zone. And what state doesn’t target out-of-state drivers? I thought that was pretty common. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/35 "2005-07-15T20:02:41Z")
In the early 1990’s in Canada, the Liberal party ran on the platform that they were going to abolish the GST. I guess they changed their tune when they saw how much money it was bringing in. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/36 "2005-07-15T22:44:59Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > This reminds me. I heard a few years ago that there was a “temporary”, hundred-year-old tax on everyone’s telephone bill to pay for something that had to do with a disaster back then. Please see my post #28. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/37 "2005-07-16T04:52:32Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Have there been taxes repealed? Not reduced in percentage or formula…eh, off to start a new thread 🙂 I was looking at a tax list from 1892 the other day, and they required a very detailed breakdown of everything owned by everyone. The guy I happened to be interested in was reported as owning one pig, value $3, and a $25 watch, for a total estate of $28, on which he was taxed. I don’t think these kinds of personal property taxes exist anymore, except for automobiles, boats and the like. True, other taxes have more than made up for it, but personal property taxes are nothing like they used to be. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/38 "2005-07-16T11:56:11Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Yeah and you know how they got around it? By targeting out of state drivers. I got a ticket last week driving down to FL. I was going MAYBE 65 in a 55 and the cop says I was doing 76. PURELY BY COINCIDENCE, 76 MPH is the lowest you can speed and get a ticket How does that work? I know there’s “unofficial” speed limits above the posted maximums, but having to go 20 miles per hour over the limit before the cop can ticket you seems kind of silly. (Don’t get me wrong, I speed all the time. It’s just that if I got caught doing 65 in a 55, I’d freely admit I was speeding.) By the way, and it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten ticket, but I remember getting a ticket in Indiana and, on the ticket itself, it had three categories of speeding: 0-15 mph over, 15-25 over, 25+ over. And, yep, I got ticketed in the 0-15 mph category doing 65 in a 55. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/39 "2005-07-16T14:41:39Z")
> [@](#): > > **BobLibDem** said: > 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? Spoken like a true lefty Democrat. That ‘revenue loss’ isn’t a loss of money the government is entitled to, it’s an elimination of a tax that was supposed to be temporary 70 years ago and a return of money to the _rightful owners of that money_, which I will give you a hint is not some suit-wearing jackass in Harrisburg. I’m sick of hearing about how the elimination of a **temproary** tax is a ‘revenue loss’ for the government. Boohoo, they should’ve planned better. It’s my money, and I want to keep it! It could be used to pay for my food, clothing, shelter, medicine. Things that I kind of **need in order to live** , but the government would rather take it away and then toss it to the wind making it mandatory to seat-belt your dog. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465/40 "2005-07-16T15:35:57Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Spoken like a true lefty Democrat. You say that like it’s a bad thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-tax-still-temporary-after-almost-70-years/312465.md?page=3)