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From: mrys@ethz.UUCP (Michael Rys)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Luxury tax on computers!
Message-ID: <6150@ethz.UUCP>
Date: 5 Oct 90 12:30:44 GMT
References: <1990Oct4.211107.21809@midway.uchicago.edu>
Reply-To: mrys@bernina.UUCP (Michael Rys)
Followup-To: talk.politics.misc
Organization: ETH Zuerich, Switzerland
Lines: 64

In article <1990Oct4.211107.21809@midway.uchicago.edu> gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes:
>------- 
>In article <1990Oct4.203906.3559@eng.umd.edu>, russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes...
>[...]
>>> 
>>>HOW THE TAX WOULD WORK
>>>The luxury tax is a 10% tax assessed on the value of the following
>>>luxury items over the following threshholds:
>>> 
>>>    Cars over $30,000
>[...]
>>>    ELECTRONICS over $1,000
>
>Fascinating.  If I want to buy a $25,000 auto, I don't have to pay any
>additional tax.  But if I were to buy a $1500 Mac Classic, I have to cough up
>$150 extra.
>

Ask yourself: 
- Which car brands cost more than $30,000? Ford, Chrysler, GM? No (ok, maybe
  some very top of the line cars)! But look at the successful companies in that
  range -> BMW, Mercedes, Rolls-Roys etc. -> European, ie non-US.

- Who is going to buy jewelery for over $5,000? From where? You got it, the
  rich and if it is not made by a local goldsmith it comes from overseas.

- Who sells the most HIFI, VCRs, Microwave ovens? Yeah, right- the Japanese.

Now what do you think, Bush had in mind with this tax?
I would suggest:

1. Increase Taxes without breaking his "Read it from my lips" word by not increasing
   income tax.
2. Therefore encreasing state income.
3. Increasing the import barrier to "balance" the trade flows.
   (What freemarket? There is no freemarket!)

That computers are part of the electronics is just a "minor" coincidence
which was not forseen - I guess - because they might have not heard that you can
buy personal computers (or macs :-) nowadays. When they went to university they
couldn't even lay hands on a pocket calculator - remember?

But this gets of comp.sys.mac.* I redirect follow-ups to talk.politics.misc
(which I don't read (I am a European, I don't have a congressperson to contact:-))
so reply personally if you want to start a discussion/flame war etc. with me.

>Robert
>
>
>============================================================================
>= gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu * generic disclaimer: * "It's more fun to =
>=            		         * all my opinions are *  compute"         =
>=                                * mine                *  -Kraftwerk       =
>============================================================================

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