The future of American Taxation is here! A “Space Tax” might solve the national debt, right?
[center]
[/center]
[i][b]Photo above[/b] - "Open the pod bay doors, HAL!" "Sorry Dave, I can't do that. You failed to pay your space departure tax."[/i]
I thought this was a joke when it hit my Yahoo news feed. Something left over from April Fool's Day. But noooo . . . the kids in the White House are completely serious. SPACE TAX! If you want to go to Mars, the Moon, or just visit some orbiting space station, pay up! (see link below).
Okay – I get it. Elon Musk, stoner that he is, has been talking up sending [b]one million people to Mars.[/b] Actual scientists have been telling him “not in a thousand years”. Since the average American pays attention to Musk, but doesn't know any actual scientists, people are putting down deposits for the Mars trip. Evidently that Cybertruck reservation fee didn't teach us anything.
Just think about the conversation which took place between White House tax and spend advisors: [i]“One million passengers? This could solve the national debt! Whether we charge by the mile, by the gallon, or just a flat boarding fee and departure tax. Escape from planet Earth special – a low, low one- time payment of $999,999."[/i]
Wait – is this kind of tax even legal? Well, the constitution doesn't forbid it. Unless the supreme court finds a “penumbra” in the Bill of Rights guaranteeing that we can leave without being held hostage. China already has an exit fee. I'm sure the White House wonks read about this. It applies to planes, trains, automobiles, and boats. This may have inspired the White House space tax.
Penumbras aside, I'm sure that after Justice Sotomayor and a few other Supreme court members retire, and Biden appoints replacements, the space tax will never be overturned. The logic will be the same as income tax. [i]“If you don't want to pay the new space tax, just stay put. And if you don't want to pay income tax, just stop earning so much. Use food stamps, welfare, section 8 housing, earned income credits . . . whatever works for you.”[/i]
Okay, so nobody is actually going to leave if the space tax costs more a one-day pass to Disneyworld. The amount of tax collected from America's space tourists will be almost zero. So the money is going to HAVE to come from cargo being launched into space. Certainly Space X, Blue Origin, Red Destination (mars) and other companies trying to earn a living from space launches will be willing to pay up, right? NASA, you won't have to pay, of course. You're a member of the bureaucracy, and get your launches comp'd.
I hope this works, and that at least SOME taxes are collected. I hope rocket companies don't simply rush to offshore all their launches to China, India, or Vanuatu. Lots of countries would be all too happy to build launch pads next to all the sites stealing American battery and chip technology. Hey - look . . . there's vacant lot right next door to the Chinese iPhone factory.
Go for it, team Biden! Let's piss away one of the few things America can still do on our own soil, by taxing it into extinction!
I'm just sayin' . . .
[b][u]Biden wants a space tax on companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin that launch in the US (msn.com)[/u][/b]
