massachusetts: determined to tax you one way or another

So...my good friend Steve gave me a car. Yes, gave - as in free, gratis, no cost, not a sale. Thus, according to every law regarding sales tax, the value of this car is not taxable because I did not buy it. My good friend wanted to give me this car.

In case you're not aware of how sales tax works here in Massachusetts, you can "buy" a car for $1.00 and have to pay 5% sales tax on whatever the Commonwealth declares the car is actually worth. So, if you buy a 1988 p.o.s. that smells like old liverwurst and has rust through the floor and if MA says that car is worth $1,000 you're gonna pay $50 in sales tax.

Even rabid tax-drooling lawmakers know that a gift is a gift and you can't assess sales tax on the value of the item given; if they could do that, Massachusetts would soon be taxing those wonderful art projects your kid brings home from school on Mother's and Father's Day (oh wait; they are! Let's see, little Johnny's coffee-can pencil holder is worth...$200! Please fork over $10 in taxes immediately, payable to your school.) Anyway, they know they can't tax a gift, and it drives them insane. How, oh how, to feel better and get something for nothing???

I know! A fee! We'll institute a fee on every car given as a gift - but only if they register it! That way, we're not actually taxing the gift, but just adding a fee at registration. If you don't register the car, you'll never pay it! Sure, that makes us feel better!

It's true. In order to register this gift car, I have to pay a $25 - and this is verbatim - "Sales Tax Exemption Fee for Gift."

In order to NOT have to pay sales tax, I have to pay a "fee."

This can also be stated as: because Massachusetts can't find a legal way to tax me for this car, they're going to assess me a fee that will replace the sales tax. True, the fee is less than the sales tax would be (I think - the gift car is a 1994 Ford Escort with 109K+ miles on it) but it is, essentially, JUST ANOTHER TAX.

I hate Massachusetts sometimes. I really do. I cannot wait to leave, which will happen when my son leaves home. Until that time, I have to stay here because of custody issues. Or I would be planning my escape right now, instead of just dreaming about it nine years down the road.

california smarts

"California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children."

Read the stories? Here it is in a nutshell: stemming from a single case where a child was possibly being abused (one of eight siblings filed a complaint), California DCFS tried to get a judge to rule that all eight kids had to go to public school so that teachers might be able to spot signs of abuse. A juvenile court ruled, however, that the parents had a constitutional right to home school their children. The DCFS appealed and the case landed in appellate court...where the above ruling was handed down. Basically, the parents of 200,000 homeschooled children in CA face penalty and criminal action, unless they obtain teaching degrees (and, if their child is in middle or high school, teaching credentials in EVERY subject.)

Are we still living in America? Of course, public school teachers are applauding this decision, and we're hearing things like "whether home schooled children are receiving a quality education at home is not the issue; these children need to be socialized with their peers" and similar nonsense. Or, shall I say, CRAP. Is school the only place children are socialized? I think not. Libraries, playgrounds, sports, arts and crafts activities, camps, FRIENDS...all these provide socialization.

Get out of my house, Government. Unless I'm neglecting or abusing my child, stay out. Stay out of my bedroom too. Stay out of my church. Stay out of my car, for heaven's sake!