California plans to tax space travel by the mile

[rangerrebew]

May 5, 2017
California plans to tax space travel by the mile
By Ed Straker

Liberals are salivating at the idea of taxing cars by the distance they travel, to better rake in money for their nefarious purposes. But in California they are taking the idea one step further, planning to tax space rockets by the mile as well.

    According to the proposal, California will collect tax from space transportation companies based on a formula factoring in how often a company launches spacecrafts out of the state, and, most importantly, how far a commercial spacecraft travels from California soil. Between May and mid-October, there were eight launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Santa Barbara County about 50 miles south of San Luis Obispo.


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/05/california_plans_to_tax_space_travel_by_the_mile.html#ixzz4gC3DRWhO
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

[thackney]

May 5, 2017
California plans to tax space travel by the mile
By Ed Straker

Liberals are salivating at the idea of taxing cars by the distance they travel, to better rake in money for their nefarious purposes. But in California they are taking the idea one step further, planning to tax space rockets by the mile as well.

    According to the proposal, California will collect tax from space transportation companies based on a formula factoring in how often a company launches spacecrafts out of the state, and, most importantly, how far a commercial spacecraft travels from California soil. Between May and mid-October, there were eight launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Santa Barbara County about 50 miles south of San Luis Obispo.


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/05/california_plans_to_tax_space_travel_by_the_mile.html#ixzz4gC3DRWhO
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

What a great plan!  If your plan was to run these businesses out of your state for good, that is...

[Oceander]

Depending on how many government agency launches there are, this may simply be a way of robbing the federal taxpayer to pay for parochial state spending priorities; the federal government tends to be rather price insensitive. 

[thackney]

Can you imagine Michigan deciding to tax car companies based upon how many miles the cars build in Michigan were driven in other states?

[rangerrebew]

I wouldn't be the least surprised if the "space" tax morphed into a tax on airline miles.  It is Mejifornia, after all, always looking for new tax sources.

[Hondo69]

A few years back Gov. Rick Perry was ridiculed for making a TV commercial welcoming businesses to Texas from California.  The implied message was, "Thank you California for being insane, we appreciate the business here in Texas."

When companies or individuals move from CA to TX they immediately get a raise in the form of less taxes.  I'd be in favor of taking that one step further.  Offer people a cash bonus to relocate.  Green cash, not a credit, but cold hard cash.  Not only would they get their automatic raise just for a lower tax burden, but a cash bonus over and above the raise.  (Notice I didn't include companies in this cash plan, they get their bonus in other ways.)

Sure it would cost a few taxpayer dollars but it's probably cheaper than running TV ads.  Plus you get to poke California with a stick, and that's priceless.

[kevindavis007]

Space Ping! PM me if you want on or off the list..


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[Cripplecreek]

Something like 25 trillion miles to Alpha centauri.

I better get free shipping.

[kevindavis007]

Something like 25 trillion miles to Alpha centauri.

I better get free shipping.

So if I go to Vulan, they will tax my trip to Vulcan??? Which is 100 trillion miles..  I better take the trip either from Texas or Florida..

[Frank Cannon]

Like CA is the only place you can launch a rocket?

[kevindavis007]

Also, if I go to the Andromeda Galaxy, and the ship launches from California? They are going to tax my quadrillion mile trip?

[geronl]

A few years back Gov. Rick Perry was ridiculed for making a TV commercial welcoming businesses to Texas from California.  The implied message was, "Thank you California for being insane, we appreciate the business here in Texas."

When companies or individuals move from CA to TX they immediately get a raise in the form of less taxes.

The state does incentivize companies with special tax deals, I totally oppose that. I don't want government handing out cash, that's what liberals do.

[geronl]

a state trying to tax things that happen outside of its jurisdiction sounds like something a judge would toss very quickly

[r9etb]

Like CA is the only place you can launch a rocket?

Vandenberg is the best CONUS site to launch things into high inclination orbits.  Everyplace else has range safety constraints that make it more difficult.

[Doug Loss]

Vandenberg is the best CONUS site to launch things into high inclination orbits.  Everyplace else has range safety constraints that make it more difficult.

And Vandenberg is a USAF base.  California can claim all the taxes they want, the feds will probably just ignore them.  And as for high inclination orbits, all CA will do is incentivize Hawaii to build some launch facilities on the big island.  CONUS isn't really a requirement for launch sites, you know.

[geronl]

And Vandenberg is a USAF base.  California can claim all the taxes they want, the feds will probably just ignore them.  And as for high inclination orbits, all CA will do is incentivize Hawaii to build some launch facilities on the big island.  CONUS isn't really a requirement for launch sites, you know.

build it in Puerto Rico

[r9etb]

CONUS isn't really a requirement for launch sites, you know.

CONUS isn't a a requirement, but logistically it is extremely convenient for a lot of reasons.

[r9etb]

build it in Puerto Rico

Range safety again.  For launches into high-inclination orbits, the likely trail of flaming debris from a launch failure crosses a lot of populated areas.

[geronl]

Range safety again.  For launches into high-inclination orbits, the likely trail of flaming debris from a launch failure crosses a lot of populated areas.

Cuba and Mexico don't count though. lol.

[Oceander]

a state trying to tax things that happen outside of its jurisdiction sounds like something a judge would toss very quickly

Not really.  The event that triggers the tax is the launch inside CA; the miles taken (inside and outside CA) are just a measure of the tax.  So long as there is some rational relationship between the mileage and the benefits conferred by CA, the tax would likely be upheld.  Of course, there's lots of room to argue that the mileage is not a good proxy for measuring whatever benefit CA provided by being the launch site, so the case could be made.  Still, most courts are way too allergic to serious tax issues, so most would probably just uphold it. 

[Doug Loss]

Not really.  The event that triggers the tax is the launch inside CA; the miles taken (inside and outside CA) are just a measure of the tax.  So long as there is some rational relationship between the mileage and the benefits conferred by CA, the tax would likely be upheld.  Of course, there's lots of room to argue that the mileage is not a good proxy for measuring whatever benefit CA provided by being the launch site, so the case could be made.  Still, most courts are way too allergic to serious tax issues, so most would probably just uphold it.

But unless the tax is quite low, the launch companies will have very strong incentives to move somewhere else.  New Zealand, perhaps...

[INVAR]

A few years back Gov. Rick Perry was ridiculed for making a TV commercial welcoming businesses to Texas from California.  The implied message was, "Thank you California for being insane, we appreciate the business here in Texas."

When companies or individuals move from CA to TX they immediately get a raise in the form of less taxes.  I'd be in favor of taking that one step further.  Offer people a cash bonus to relocate.  Green cash, not a credit, but cold hard cash.  Not only would they get their automatic raise just for a lower tax burden, but a cash bonus over and above the raise.  (Notice I didn't include companies in this cash plan, they get their bonus in other ways.)

Sure it would cost a few taxpayer dollars but it's probably cheaper than running TV ads.  Plus you get to poke California with a stick, and that's priceless.

Like Locusts Californians will come to your state as they are taxed out of existence - and then once in Texas they will vote the same way they did in mexifornia, and consume every liberty-resource that exists there in Texas and turn you into the same or worse than they are now.

[DB]

Like Locusts Californians will come to your state as they are taxed out of existence - and then once in Texas they will vote the same way they did in mexifornia, and consume every liberty-resource that exists there in Texas and turn you into the same or worse than they are now.

The truth is most "Californians" are not from California and came here and destroyed the state.

[Smokin Joe]

A few years back Gov. Rick Perry was ridiculed for making a TV commercial welcoming businesses to Texas from California.  The implied message was, "Thank you California for being insane, we appreciate the business here in Texas."

When companies or individuals move from CA to TX they immediately get a raise in the form of less taxes.  I'd be in favor of taking that one step further.  Offer people a cash bonus to relocate.  Green cash, not a credit, but cold hard cash.  Not only would they get their automatic raise just for a lower tax burden, but a cash bonus over and above the raise.  (Notice I didn't include companies in this cash plan, they get their bonus in other ways.)

Sure it would cost a few taxpayer dollars but it's probably cheaper than running TV ads.  Plus you get to poke California with a stick, and that's priceless.

Be careful with that.

If people are moving to Texas from California just for the money, you're going to get pretty much the full spectrum of Californicators, because they won't be moving for more freedom, to own guns, to live better, or more free--they'll be moving for the money, and try to bring the rest of the insane tyranny they are comfortable with right along with them.

[Smokin Joe]

The truth is most "Californians" are not from California and came here and destroyed the state.

They have concentrated there now, so where they originated is less germane...

...unless you are from an older family there and have resented every part of that invasion, which I could understand. I could not live where I grew up now because of the insane taxes and laws there, as much as I miss the family, a handful of friends, and the place (sans regulatory insanity). I recognize that the place I miss no longer exists in so many ways, even though the geography that has avoided being altered still persists. It is hard to watch a place you love slide into that abyss, but it is behind the velvet curtain now.