This past week, Q-line asked:
As if times weren’t hard enough, the county sales tax recently increased making big purchases all the more difficult while putting more pressure on families looking to save money. Will the sales tax increase cause you to think twice when it comes to making big-ticket purchases?
Here are your responses:
“Of course the sales tax increases will curtail my shopping and spending in general. Only the actual necessities will be purchased. They just shot themselves in the foot. Wait and see.”
“When choosing a high-tech product, such as an automobile, I make up my mind on three manufacturers’ brand of automobile I would enjoy owning. Then my work begins. I shop those three dealerships until I am satisfied that I have the best-priced deal available. Ditto on television, refrigerators, stoves and furniture. The less I pay for a product, the less sales taxes I pay. As Ben Franklin said, a ‘penny saved is a penny earned.’ Although I do not intend to make a million dollar sales taxable purchase, it is interesting to note that the sales tax would be around $100,000. And certain to make Gov. Arney’s muscles ripple with delight.”
“Yeah, sales tax is ridiculous. So, I’m not going to buy any big-ticket items for a while. Of course, in October I’ll be visiting relatives in Oregon, and since there’s no sales tax there I’m going to buy a big screen TV and a whole bunch of other things I need, and save money on the sales tax.”
“I, as well as other businesses, intend on moving out of L.A. rather than pay the excessive tax. We will not compensate the state for the greedy politicians and public servants who dipped their hand once too many in what they thought was a pot of gold. They inflate their travel expenses, restaurants, entertainment, etc., and they sat behind their desks. Now that California is such a mess they want to collect ‘protection money.’ Tony Soprano tactics are now legal in L.A.”
“Of course it will. High taxes are like rat poison to a republic like ours. To get people to spend that money under the mattress, the state should initiate a flat tax rate of at least 10 percent less on every fee, levy, toll. Businesses would soon follow the state’s lead. Also, it would help to have a 10 percent reduction in spending. Our smug leaders have no concept of economics or what sustains a republic. Big taxes and big spending equal a big end to our great experiment in freedom.”
“I will not be making anymore big ticket purchases. However, it should not bother those with obscene amounts of money on hand. Although they … are the one’s who usually squawk the loudest when it comes to any tax increases.”
