White House Faces Opposition to User Fees

[Judi Lynn]

White House Faces Opposition to User Fees
Administration Proposes $3.5B in New User Fees to Fund Government but Faces Renewed Opposition
By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON Feb 11, 2006 (AP)— President Bush hates new taxes, that's for sure. But tell that to airline passengers, higher-income veterans and owners of freighters using the St. Lawrence Seaway. They are among those hit up for billions of dollars under his new budget plan.

The spending proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 contains $3.5 billion in new user fees. Typically branded as new taxes by those who have to pay them, these fees are intended to hold down the public's cost for programs such as airline screening, medical care for veterans and military retirees, food inspection and oversight of commodities markets.

The fees would swell to $47.2 billion over five years, dunning taxpayers and industry to help pay for government services.

Most if not all of the proposed fees, however, arrived on Capitol Hill dead as a doornail.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1608126&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[rfkrfk]

1. tax on jet fuel for US domestic flight, four cents a gallon

not a typo, four

tax on jet fuel for international flight...
zero
not a penny

am I suppose to have sympathy for airline passengers?

[Kolesar]

10. I expect that income tax receipts are used to build runways

and highways leading to the airport. I really don't have the data, though.

[meow2u3]

2. "User fees" are just regressive taxes by another name

Repukes seem to think if we call a tax a user fee, the public won't think it's a tax, but it is one--a regressive tax.

[Trillo]

8. Yup. That's it, precisely.

$X.00 on an bank account of $1000 is smaller than the same $X.00 on a bank account of $1,000,000.

That's the way the rich like it. Bush loves rich people. Bush hates poor people. Simple as that.

Edited to add:
GOP = Gouging Our Poor.

[ixion]

9. yep... it's taxation without representation

and it's not even legal, but that's never stopped them anyway. :grr:

[PhilipShore]

3. CBS News/AP: White House Faces Opposition to User Fees

CBS News/AP
White House Faces Opposition to User Fees
Feb. 12, 2006

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/12/ap/business/mainD8FNA8DG0.shtml

(AP) President Bush hates new taxes, that's for sure. But tell that to airline passengers, higher-income veterans and owners of freighters using the St. Lawrence Seaway. They are among those hit up for billions of dollars under his new budget plan.

The spending proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 contains $3.5 billion in new user fees. Typically branded as new taxes by those who have to pay them, these fees are intended to hold down the public's cost for programs such as airline screening, medical care for veterans and military retirees, food inspection and oversight of commodities markets.

The fees would swell to $47.2 billion over five years, dunning taxpayers and industry to help pay for government services.

[napi21]

4. Broadcast the NEW TAXES are Shrubs taxes!!!!!

This seems to be the one thing the Pubs, at least those who so strongly support ShrubCo hate the MOST! Scream this far and wide!!! Shrub wants to increase your taxes now!!!!!!!

[rodeodance]

5. ok=BUSH RAISES TAXES

[TankLV]

6. They're not taxes silly! They're USERS FEES.

Users Fees are taxes only when Democrats propose them!

Just look at what the repukes have said on this subject!

[1932]

7. The richer you are, the less a user fee hurts you. America's largest corps

would rather pay user fees (and have their smaller competitors pay user fees) than pay progressive income tax.