By Pat Orr
Apple Valley Review
Rather than attempt to reduce waste in programs we already have and refuse to extend benefits to millions more, our legislative brain trust is contemplating new ways to tax Californians. The ploy, which is often used successfully, is to dangle the prospect of reducing taxes in one area so we will vote in new taxes in another area. The truth is a tax, once levied, never goes away no matter what they tell us.
A new ripe target is the service industry. Heretofore only the sales of goods and products were taxable but now the cash-hungry legislative spenders have their eye on every manner of service provided to boost revenue.
They complain that “California is becoming a service economy which is killing sales tax revenue.” Yes, onerous taxes, regulations and workplace rules have a way of chasing out manufacturing and other labor-intensive businesses. The problems with taxing services provided by lawyers, accountants, dog groomers, beauticians and thousands of others is that it will be an additional hardship on those businesses and a virtual nightmare to collect, report and properly split revenue among entities. Each local city gets a slice of sales tax revenue generated in their city.
The state Board of Equalization has inspectors and auditors who travel around and visit businesses to insure compliance. How does this work with home-based or traveling businesses?
Mac the Mobile Dog Groomer drives his van to every city in the High Desert to service pooches. Can he track every dollar he takes in by geographic location and then make five or six separate filings with the BOE monthly or quarterly? Who is going to track down Mac’s Mobile van to find out if he is even charging sales tax? It's a paperwork nightmare with only two sure results: First, small service businesses will leave California or shut down and second, hundreds of new highly paid, well-pensioned state employees will be needed to track all these new taxpaying small service businesses.
California politicians are drunk on tax dollars. Voters need to lock the liquor cabinet and make sure the Democrats don’t again get a legislative “super-majority” to pry it open whenever they please.
You had to have one
Adolf Hitler had one, Christopher Columbus had one, even Bill and Hillary are reported to have had one each.
Sunday is Mother's Day and it may be one holiday that all humans share. We can't say that about Father's Day because many folks have none or more than one — that they know of. But moms find it pretty hard to walk away from that little lump they carried around for nine months. For many of us, aging mothers become a seeming burden that we begrudgingly must care for. Yet, no matter how young or old or how great or poor they were in the motherhood department there is a sting when they leave us.
Men love their children and would die for their children but they also give up on their children. Moms always win when it comes to unqualified compassion and forgiveness regarding their children. A mother never gives up on her kid, be he a serial killer or senator — you choose which is worst.
My wife's mother recently passed one month short of her 90th birthday. It seemed as if she was always there. Well, she was always there. It hit me after my own mother died that I was really "on my own." Even if you are 60 when your last parent dies — usually mom — you eventually realize no one is left who loves you more than anything else in the world. That's the promise of "mom" that we celebrate Sunday with brunches and ugly scarves and flowers snapped up at the grocery store on the way to her house.
If you're lucky enough to have a mom who is still vertical, treat her nice while you can whether she's hard to get along with or not. After all, where would you be without her?
— Pat Orr is a local business owner, community volunteer and political junkie.