President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).
To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52). And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees.
Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government” (76 CFR 69102). The Federal government mandates that the Christmas tree sellers pay the 15-cents per tree, whether they want to or not. The Federal government directs that the revenue generated by the 15-cent fee goes to the Board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Christmas tree program established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. President, that’s a new 15-cent tax to pay for a Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
I just heard on the radio that obama pulled back this new tax. Anyone else hear the same?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Yes the tax has been cancelled it was costing the king too many votes.
Wrong!
As stated above, there are no Christmas trees.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
The tax on Holiday Trees and Christmas Trees --- Is not really a BAD thing as many of the Nayboobs would have you believe.....(as everyone know, the NNN scum LIE.)
If the Christmas Tree industry does indeed want the tax in order for the Federal Government to properly market the trees, why would the Nattering Naybobs of Negativity be AGAINST THEM? Because they are AGAINST EVERYTHING that involves progress......
The tax on Holiday Trees and Christmas Trees --- Is not really a BAD thing as many of the Nayboobs would have you believe.....(as everyone know, the NNN scum LIE.)
If the Christmas Tree industry does indeed want the tax in order for the Federal Government to properly market the trees, why would the Nattering Naybobs of Negativity be AGAINST THEM? Because they are AGAINST EVERYTHING that involves progress......
I know your probably drunk right now , so I'll type this slowly.
The tax is for Christmas trees....There are no Christmas trees
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
We celebrated this by picking out a nice fake tree this year, We will NEVER buy a real one AGAIN!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
I thought liberals loved separation of church and state, oh but I guess this is different because taxes are involved..just like Libya wasn't a war it was a humanitarian effort
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
I thought liberals loved separation of church and state, oh but I guess this is different because taxes are involved..just like Libya wasn't a war it was a humanitarian effort
Separation of Church & State??? The bible condemns the pagan Idol of Christmas trees. ( It's just the PC Christian Right Wing Fanatics that DEMAND Christ in everything Christmas)
"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen.... For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." Jeremiah 10
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I sent a letter to the people at the the Real Christmas Tree Association (info@realchristmastrees.org)... letting them know that if they decided that a new tax to fund an advertising program was something they supported then I would be buying a fake tree. Here is the response. The claim the cost won't be passed onto the consumer. yeah, right.
Quoted Text
Does that mean you also stopped wearing cotton T-shirts? Because cotton growers have for years had a very successful checkoff program promoting the use of cotton. Have you also stopped drinking milk? Have you stopped eating blueberries, beef and watermelon? A checkoff doesn’t have anything to do with Obama or taxes.
Bottom line: Real Christmas trees are grown by American farm families. Fake Christmas trees are made in Chinese factories. Merry Christmas.
Background:
Agricultural producers have created promotional boards like this one since 1966, and they date back to the Johnson administration. There are more than 20 such boards in existence currently and some well-known promotional boards have developed successful advertising and promotion campaigns, including the “Got Milk?,” “Pork: The Other White Meat” and “The Incredible Edible Egg."
There is zero tax dollars involved here. USDA bills all costs associated with these promotional efforts to the industry groups that create the boards.
These Promotional Boards are created when the industry gathers together and votes on whether they want to petition USDA to create a promotional board (these votes/industry discussions happen without any action on USDA’s part). If the industry determines that they want the promotional board, they petition USDA to create the board. USDA then reviews the petition and creates the board if it meets certain requirements. USDA typically accepts an industry petition if it met all the criteria. That is what happened here.
Fresh cut Christmas tree producers have long been concerned about losing market share to artificial tree makers and foreign imports. In response, the domestic producers decided, as an industry, to fund a promotional effort, similar to how the dairy processors have created the "Got Milk?" campaign. They want to self-assess this 15-cent fee on domestic fresh cut Christmas trees for producers who sell more than 500 trees a year.
To ensure fairness, and as required by law, the Agriculture Department works with the industry at the start of this effort to ensure that consumers are not gouged, and to provide ongoing oversight of the promotional effort established by industry.
This is self-funded by producers who sell or import more than 500 trees. Producers pay for all costs associated with this. There is zero tax dollars involved here.
Many producers from dairy farmers to livestock producers to blueberry growers have created research boards because it increases their markets and they prosper.
Additional Background:
Commodity promotion programs allow farmers to promote and fund research on their crops and livestock together in ways they could not do on their own. There are hundreds of thousands of farmers, almost all of modest size and scale. They cannot afford, individually, to buy advertising, carry out market research, develop new products and do all the other things that are a normal part of successful industries. Seeing the need to fund research and promote consumption of agricultural products, Congress has authorized commodity checkoff programs, which – with the consent of a majority of producers – collect funds for these purposes. Economic studies have repeatedly found that the return on farmers’ investment in checkoff programs is high. Probably for this reason, the checkoffs are popular with the overwhelming majority of farmers. The Supreme Court has specifically ruled that commodity checkoff programs are constitutional. Checkoff programs operate at no cost to taxpayers – farmers not only contribute to the programs, but offset the administrative costs of oversight, audit and other government functions. USDA oversees checkoff operations to make sure they are consistent with the intent of Congress. The checkoffs themselves are run by farmers and their employees. Checkoff programs fund important research at universities which benefits consumers and the industry.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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