Senator Hass tries to censor the word tax from bag tax bill

SB 536: Plastic bag ban and paper bag tax cartoon
By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

At yesterday’s SB 536 plastic bag ban and paper bag tax hearing, State Senator Mark Hass refused to allow people testifying to mention the word tax. Senate Bill 536 forces a grocer to charge 5 cents per paper bag. Senator Hass said that he checked with government Legislative Council and discovered that they do consider the bill a tax therefore it magically is now not a tax even though government is forcing people to give up money. This tax censoring is a dangerous step with politicians who wish to pass taxes under a different name. The cartoon below shows the silliness behind not calling the paper bag tax an actual tax.

It was not clear at the hearing what the plastic bag ban and bag tax supporters are defining the tax as and what word the public should use .

Here is the Webster dictionary definition of a tax

“A charge usually of money imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes”

How could the plastic bag ban and bag tax not be considered a tax.