It’s tax time!
And while you’re busy scrambling to get together your return for this year, a new TIME article points out six new (incredibly strange) taxes that may be coming your way in the very near future. A few have even already passed.
Take a look at some of the ideas:
Entertainment Taxes
A 5 percent sales tax has been proposed in Ohio for entertainment such as circuses, museums, bowling and tickets to sporting events and concerts. This proposed tax would even include tickets for high school sporting events.
Drinks
Taxing soda is not a new idea, but the concept has come up again in Vermont, where a bill was recently advanced to add a 1 cent-per-ounce tax on every sugar-sweetened beverage sold there.
Environmentally Friendly Cars & Bikes
If you think you’re doing some good by driving or riding an environmentally friendly vehicle, think again. States make money off the gas sold to fuel vehicles, and as such Washington state is adding a $100 annual tax on electric cars. The state is also considering another additional $25 tax on bikes that retail for $500 or more. The argument is that motorists feel cyclists aren’t paying their fair share to build and maintain roads.
The Miles You Drive
In Virginia, you could soon be taxed for every mile you drive. Some estimates put the cost of such a tax between $108 and $248 per year, compared to the $96 drivers currently pay in federal gas taxes. Those against the tax are concerned about a tax that would allow states to monitor their personal mileage.
Lumber
Not even your wood is safe. Retailers in California have been expecting to collect an extra 1 percent in taxes on sales of 2-by-4s, plywood and other unfinished lumber. The new tax is estimated to generate between $30 million and $35 million a year to help the state enforce stringent timber-harvesting regulations.
Marijuana
At the beginning of February, two Congressmen proposed a bill that would end the federal prohibition of marijuana and allow it to be taxed at the federal level. To be clear, this legislation would not legalize the use of marijuana in every state, but it would remove it from the Controlled Substances Act. The Marijuana Tax Equity Act also includes an excise tax on cannabis sales, along with an annual “occupational tax” on workers who deal with marijuana sales.
More from Learnvest:
Is Obamacare Negatively Impacting Your Tax Bill?
6 Steps to a Simple Tax Season
What to Do if You Can’t Afford to Pay Your Taxes