When is a tax increase not a tax increase? when law makers, such as Paul Ryan and self-proclaimed tax watch dog, Grover Norquist, say that it is a fee. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan had assured us that the budget has no tax increases, tho it includes a > 100% increase in TSA fees imposed on every plane ticket started yesterday. According to Paul Ryan, it is a fee and not a tax. Grover Norquist's position is “This fee straddles the line between a tax increase and a user fee without technically crossing into tax hike territory,”WTF the additional $ collect by the Federal Gov do not go directly to the TSA. Rather, they go directly into the General Fund, where all tax revenues (income tax, gasoline tax, sales tax, etc.) go
When is a tax increase not a tax increase? When they call it "The Affordable Healthcare Act" instead?
It sounds like a fee to me. That it goes into the General Fund instead of a TSA-specific account sounds like the insignificant part. The only real shortcoming I see is that the TSA's budget is likely not impacted by how much they collect in fees. But, it only really matters whether it's a fee or a tax if you have some irrational and dogmatic belief that no taxes should ever increase ever, ever.
