A Dangerous Precedent?

It's not that there hasn't been anything to blog about in the last few weeks...
it was just time to take a mid-summer hiatus from blogging.

Until I read the following on Bob Spiers' blog:

Saturday, August 20, 2016

City wants share of pot tax

by Wayne Moore - CASTANET Aug 20, 2016 / 5:00 am
The City of Kelowna should receive a portion of tax revenues derived from legal marijuana sales.That's just one of several recommendations city staff have provided in response to questions asked by the federal government in advance of legislation which will legalize marijuana in Canada. Local and provincial governments across the country have been asked to provide feedback to advise the government on the design of new legislation and the regulatory framework that will include a new system of strict marijuana sales and distribution.City planner Ryan Smith said staff reviewed the government's discussion paper and provided responses to several questions.  (See Bob's blog for what the responses were...)

But MY bone of contention likely mirrors the same alarm bells of other business owners...
and that is:

Have you EVER...EVER seen a tax that doesn't suddenly 

extend to other businesses?

All in the "interests" of procedural fairness? (*grin*)

Of course not.

This slippery slope of local governments wanting a piece of tax revenues from legal marijuana sales can set a very dangerous precedent.

And likely will.

People hate taxes, whether local, provincial or federal.

Tax, borrow and spend is yet another contagion that is spreading to even the lowest levels of government.

"It's absolutely stooooopid that T2 (prime minister) considers legalizing pot to be of prime importance," says Kia, "in a world full of entirely more important issues."

But what can be expected from a kid raised on a trust fund?

Probably can't even spell economics...

A precedent if ever there was one.