Another Nut Job Tax Proposal
So, you think California is a nut job state?
Check this out from Florida. A duly-elected democratic representative from St. Petersburg, Fla., has put forth a new tax bill that will, if passed, hit at the heart of pipe smokers.
Rep. Darryl Rouson has written and placed in the Florida House hopper a tax bill that places a 25 percent surtax on retail sales of all pipes, no matter their size, shape, or intended use.
He says he is trying to get at the druggies in his state. Oh, yeah, and my grandmother was a Chinese aviator (no offense to our Chinese friends).
Rouson is quoted in the Orlando Sentinel thus: We all know the head shops, gas stations, and novelty stores in Florida are selling drug paraphernalia under the charade of being “tobacco pipes,’” Rouson said in a press release for HB 187. “If these items are to be available to the citizens of Florida, then we should charge a surtax on these consumers who are obviously using the pipes to do drug.
Don’t buy this malarkey! Rouson is trying to produce a 25 percent revenue stream on the backs of pipe smokers. He isn’t after the druggies. His bill says “all pipes,” including pipes made of wood, ceramic as well as “water pipes.”
Where was this guy when the U.S. spent millions, if not billions, on the War Against Drugs? We are still burning marijuana patches in Central and South America. He should be aiming his programs toward beefing up that part of the U.S. military operations. His state, of course, is a major military player.
This is just an outrage. The voters of Florida should not be fooled by this foolish proposal.
You can read the entire mess on the link below. I am also linking to the Orlando Sentinel story so you can read Rouson’s message for yourself.
Many thanks to the folks at pipesmagazine.com for bringing this to our attention!
You can find the Florida House Bill 187 here. The Orlando Sentinel story is here.
This nation gets crazier by the day. No, make that by the moment.
If we do not make our collective voices heard over this type of insanity, then we are in jeopardy of losing our hobby to the nut jobs.
Life is gonna get tougher for pipe smoker’s. I do my part, but I feel so alone when my Representatives answer me and write, “I just don’t hear any complaints except from the Anti-Smoker crowd!” So, as far as they are concerned, they are on the correct track both local, State and Federal levels and life will just keep getting tougher on the tobacco user.
One thing I have noticed that has me worried is the RYO tobacco parading as pipe tobacco now. I am seeing more and more of it labeled as such. I have seen a least three different brands. Same exact tobacco as cigarettes just labeled as being got pipes. This is unwelcome attention from those who are trying to duck under the huge taxes put on RYO.
Our pleasure Fred!
Here is what we wrote about it:
http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-news/breaking-news-florida-representative-files-bill-to-tax-tobacco-pipes/
Our pleasure Fred!
Follow the link on my name to see our article about it too.