Friday, June 25, 2004
Nickel and Diming Small Businesses
Got a couple of gripes today. The fiurst is that Florida just wants to squeeze every last dime I earn. Now, the legislature has decided to tax home computer networks. That's right. Because I connect two computers together at home, I need to pay a special tax. Furthermore, if I have a fax machine, that's taxable too.
What gets me is this line in the article linked above:
In May, the Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill that would have prevented collection of the tax until 2006, during which time the law could be carefully reviewed. The bill was then sent to the House, but wasn't voted on before the summer break, clearing the way for officials to begin collecting the tax.
Forgive me for not understanding the legislative process, but perhaps you should have read the bill BEFORE you signed it into law??!?
On a diffrent note, my Honda refuses to just go away where cars go when they die. I assume it's somewhere close to the Elephant Graveyeard. In February my 1989 Honda finally gave up the ghost when its transmission died. I essentially abandoned the car in a grocery store parkking lot, and stripped out everything I wanted to keep. About two weeks later, I called Cars for Cancer, a non-profit that takes junked cars and sells them for donations to their cause. A few weeks later I told them where the car was and what it looked like. Then I never heard from them again, despite contacting them several times.
They never came to get my car. Now, finally, the grocery store decided to tow my car away, and sell it at public auction. All well and good, except that if it does not sell, the towing company will issue a lien against me for the cost of towing the car and storing it at their facility for several days, a cost I know which will several hundred dollars. If I don't pay, I will not be able to renew my liscense plates when it is time to do so?
I'm pretty ticked, though I think I'm legally protected, as I signed the car over to the Cancer Society in February. I'll have to make sure when I get home, but it's just irritating.
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