Taxing Tickets
News coming out of Sacramento indicates that the new budget will mean severe cuts in education, health care and welfare. The governor and the Legislature will bemoan the necessity for cutting these vital services but neither side is willing to tax an industry which has never had to impose a sales tax on its customers!
We impose an 8 1/4% sales tax on such “luxuries” as diapers and soap and yet there is no tax on the $400-courtside Laker ticket. California taxes the $35 college textbook, but it dares not tax the $36 Raider ticket. The $50 ticket for “The Phantom of the Opera” is not taxed; however, we do tax the $5 which is spent on children’s shoes.
If the state imposed a tax on all entertainment and sporting events that cost more than $10, it would realize approximately $55 million yearly, and it would affect only those who have disposable income.
LOUIS BARAK
Van Nuys
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