taxing on homegrown food????

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
There have been talk of taxing seeds and fertilizer, anything attributed to farming whether large or small scale. There has also been discussions of the USDA being given authority to regulate home farming. I do not remember the house bill number but I believe it did not make it out of committee.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I don't guess I will hold my breath for anything like that to happen too quick, but it is a concern somewhere in my mind. Actually I think they are all real busy right now, trying to shove other expenses down our throats and they will probably go after others before some little farmers, but if it comes to pass that we are supposed to be regulated, I would bet almost anything that a lot of really good people will become outlaws......a lot of blackmarket chicks will start to be sold and people growing crops for seeds, as well as produce.

 

[kcsunshine]

Actually, I can almost see this happening. After all, someone has to pay for the money that's been spent in the last year - didn't know my egg mone was so valuable.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

I guess when they start taxing what we raise, grow, or produce, we can write off the expenses of what it costs to do it. Think about it, some folks have a lot of money tied up in housing, raising, and caring for chickens. To tax us on a few dozen eggs that we may get compared to what it cost to actually get these eggs, its a win-win situation.

I even keep up with the receipts of fuel that I put in my boat and mowers. Every year I write off the state and federal highway taxes. These taxes are road use taxes, I don't drive the boat or the mowers on the highway. It adds up to several hundred dollars a year. The PCM on the boat has a built in hour meter in it so if they want to audit me I can compare the fuel burned to the use hours on the boat.

Marty

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Sounds like a plan. My husband spent so much money on making me the most perfect coop he could, plus the price of my chicks, vaccines, feed and other equipment, that it will take years to get my investment back, unless you consider the big picture, that I don't need to talk about............meaning the price of chicken meat, I no longer need to buy, the lawnmower that is never used, the help in the garden and compost pile. I don't know though. I have never been political, until now. I feel like freedom is slowly slipping away.

 

[Wifezilla]

I feel like freedom is slowly slipping away.

It has been eroding for quite some time, it is just now it is happening so rapidly it is harder to NOT notice.​

 

[cassie]

That tax on home grown food sounds like an urban legend to me. First of all, it makes no sense whatever, although a lot of what government does doesn't make any sense. Two, enforcement would be all but impossible. And third, what would be the gain? It would cost a lot more than the tax would bring in. Shoot, they can't even keep track of all the pot fields around here.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Some places already have a tax on chickens. They just call it a permit fee. There are a lot of people on this forum that have to buy permits to keep poultry. There are cities that have a "pet tax." They call it a licensing fee. It's not uncommon for people to have to pay $50 a year to have a dog or cat.

 

[comp6512]

Quote:
I think enforcement would be quite easy. Just make us buy a poultry license or a small-scale vegetable grower license every year. Unlicensed activity = fines.

horsejody, you beat me to it....

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I think most of us would be willing to pay 50 dollars a year, if necessary, for the right to keep our chickens and thats probably how it would begin and thats, perhaps not out of the question, but I just wouldn't be happy about it and find it would be a pain and a few other words that I shouldn't post on this forum. But, like I said, I feel like freedom is slowly slipping away or that some people are trying to take more of our freedoms away and that would be just one more government enforced thing. Some people can't find 50 dollars very easily.
I would hope we never loose our current rights, but lately I just don't know. My sister told me ( she is married to a Cubian ) that in Cuba chicken farming is very regulated. The eggs are taxed and people are limited on the amount of eggs they can have. 2 eggs per person per month. Everyday, I would reach my monthly allotted amount. She put it like they are really suffering there and the freedoms we have are so far out of their comprehension, that its amazing. I don't guess we will ever see things getting to that point, but it is possible for the government to crack down on us to the point that they control a lot more aspects of our lives. If Cuba can do it, the US can certainly do it.
Look......we elect them and then instead of doing what is right or what we tell them to do, they do what their party wants and what is good for them and we allow it and pay the consequences and they reap the rewards. They all have free meal tickets at our expense.