Lawmaker Wants to Drop Tax on U.S. Flag
Feb 7, 9:50 am ET
AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - A Maine lawmaker says he has proposed a bill that would end the state sales tax on the American flag -- except for those people who burn it.
"I personally along with many Americans am very patriotic and it's always kind of irked me to pay sales tax on the flag," State Rep. Ron Collins, a Republican from southern Maine, said Wednesday of his proposed legislation.
The bill would require local newspapers to print the names of any U.S. citizen who burns the Stars and Stripes in protest. The protester would be required to pay the 5 percent tax to the state, Collins said.
The lawmaker said that although the tax committee of the Maine House of Representatives would probably discuss his bill next month, it may be doomed because it comes as legislators seek to patch up a $1 billion budget deficit that the state faces next year.
"They're looking for ways to increase our revenues, not take them away. It may not pass given that," Collins said.
Collins was unable to say how many American flags were sold in Maine each year.
Feb 7, 9:50 am ET
AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - A Maine lawmaker says he has proposed a bill that would end the state sales tax on the American flag -- except for those people who burn it.
"I personally along with many Americans am very patriotic and it's always kind of irked me to pay sales tax on the flag," State Rep. Ron Collins, a Republican from southern Maine, said Wednesday of his proposed legislation.
The bill would require local newspapers to print the names of any U.S. citizen who burns the Stars and Stripes in protest. The protester would be required to pay the 5 percent tax to the state, Collins said.
The lawmaker said that although the tax committee of the Maine House of Representatives would probably discuss his bill next month, it may be doomed because it comes as legislators seek to patch up a $1 billion budget deficit that the state faces next year.
"They're looking for ways to increase our revenues, not take them away. It may not pass given that," Collins said.
Collins was unable to say how many American flags were sold in Maine each year.
