Dems push for increases in minimum wage, cigarette tax

[IA_Seth]

Dems push for increases in minimum wage, cigarette tax

http://www.gazetteonline.com/2005/12/15/Home/legislaturedemocrats.htm

Democrats want to raise the state minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 and approve increases in the cigarette tax to provide funds for other measures, such as property tax relief or making health care more accessible.

(snip)

An increase from 36 cents a pack to 72 cents was approved by the evenly divided Senate earlier this year. Under that plan, the proceeds would go to property tax relief.

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I hate to bring up the cigarette tax on another thread, but this article mentions something that really pisses me off, to put it mildly.

"approve increases in the cigarette tax to provide funds for other measures, such as property tax relief or making health care more accessible"

Um..what the hell?! I can understand (and mildly accept) an increase in cigarette tax to help fund a healthcare shortage and to pay for the "wear and tear" of our healthcare system caused by smokers. A poster made an anology to a "usage tax" in the previous thread that makes sense.

But PROPERTY TAX RELIEF? How much more regressive can you get than taxing a product used mainly by the poor to benefit property owners? How bout we start taxing bus fares to subsidize caviar prices?

Can anyone explain the rationale behind this? It doesn't make sense to me.

[Debi]

1. Oh, thank God we're coming up with some winning ideas

:sarcasm: Why don't we just make sure that union member state workers have to make salary and benefit concessions so that multi-million dollar corporations can get free land..oh, wait we already did that. I know, why don't we pass a law that makes a woman have to wait 72 hours before she can terminate a pregnancy and force her physician to show her a video about the evils of her decision and send her home with some literature to read before coming back? Oh, wait we already did that (thank God Vilsack vetoed it). How about passing a law that states that English is the only language to be spoken in classrooms and government offices? YOWZA!!! Let's make all of Iowa a freaking TIF district and raise property taxes through the roof so that Wal-Mart will move it's corporate headquarters here?!!!! x( :sarcasm:

Is this really the best we can do?

[haroldgiowa]

2. Property tax relief benefits the rich

And do you think any property tax relief will be passed on to the tenants who pay rent? Not a chance. How many poor actually own property? There are senior citizens who own property. I could support giving the poor senior citizens a break on property taxes. I could support helping those earning below the actual cost of living a property tax break.

[Rambis]

3. Property tax relief is republican nomenclature

We need stop letting them frame the debate. Taxes are not inherently bad it is what the pugs do with the tax money that is bad for america. They give it all to the rich for god sakes!