Free Republic

Taxes Vs. Fees: What's The Difference? The word "fee" has been tossed around a lot lately. Cities are increasingly passing or considering raising the amount of money residents pay to use recreation centers, libraries, and trash collection services. Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, said politicians should just be asking the voters for more money if they want it. Hickenlooper said he was not ruling out the possibility of going to voters and asking for a tax hike but hopes a review of departments and fee increases will help them avoid it.

In a controversial simple-majority vote Sunday night, the state Assembly approved raising taxes on oil production and tobacco products as part of a Democratic budget proposal that closes most of the $24.3 billion budget shortfall through June 2010. But the plan met immediate resistance when a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed that the Republican would veto such an end run around GOP lawmakers. Bills containing new taxes normally require a two-thirds majority to be enacted. "He will veto any majority-vote budget fix," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "I think this shows that the Legislature is not yet serious about...

Coloradans whose license plates expire in July will have to pay new fees to get their plates renewed starting Wednesday. The size of the fees varies by the weight of the vehicle... Late fines are going up, too, and there will be a $2 daily fee on rental cars. The fees come from Senate Bill 108, the first new funding source for Colorado highways since the last time the gas tax increased nearly two decades ago. Democrats led by Gov. Bill Ritter pushed for the law, which should raise $200 million to $250 million a year to repair roads and...

There is only one major problem with Manitou Springs' plan to start charging $5 per car in the Barr Trail parking lot: Manitou doesn't own the lot, Colorado Springs Utilities does. And now Utilities wants some of the cash - or maybe all of it. The 32-car lot is packed nearly year-round with hikers going up Pikes Peak or Manitou Incline. The parking fees could easily top $100,000 a year. "Utilities wants a say in how money is allocated," Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said Wednesday. "We have an obligation to make sure we are representing the interests of our ratepayers."...

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years. Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit. Banks are expected to look...

All vehicles with a registration date of Tuesday and beyond will see the license fee increase from 0.65 percent to 1.15 percent of value of the vehicle. Based on the purchase price of a $20,000 vehicle, the vehicle licese fee will go from $131 to $231. The increase is part of the state's effort to close its budget deficit.

SACRAMENTO – Call it overhead. The state Air Resources Board plans to collect more fees from industries responsible for large amounts of greenhouse gases to recoup the administrative costs of implementing California's landmark climate change law. The proposed $50 million in annual assessments would nick Californians for about $1.50 a year after the costs are passed down, regulators estimate. The climate change program has been partly living on borrowed money for some time, tapping various state accounts to pay for 155 positions within the air board and for about 20 others assigned to different agencies. The additional staff, which includes...

Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law the historic Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act, which will provide health coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans and reduce uncompensated care and cost shifting. House Bill 09-1293 is the most significant health reform legislation in Colorado in four decades. “At no increased cost to taxpayers, the Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act will allow us to provide critical health services to people who need those services the most,” Gov. Ritter said. “This historic legislation will significantly address the crisis of the uninsured while also reducing uncompensated care and cost-shifting in our healthcare system. By partnering...

In a decision that could force Silicon Valley's largest water provider to refund millions — or perhaps tens of millions — of dollars to its customers, a judge on Thursday ruled that one of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's primary fees is illegal. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy found that the district's "groundwater extraction fee" requires voter approval under Proposition 218, a state law passed in 1996.

After her sport utility vehicle sideswiped a van in early February, Shirley Kimel was amazed at how quickly a handful of police officers and firefighters in Winter Haven, Fla., showed up. But a real shock came a week later, when a letter arrived from the city billing her $316 for the cost of responding to the accident. “I remember thinking, ‘What the heck is this?’ ” says Ms. Kimel, 67, an office manager at a furniture store. “I always thought this sort of thing was covered by my taxes.” It used to be. But last July, Winter Haven

WASHINGTON – The Senate has endorsed using revenues from controversial cap-and-trade auctions of permits for emitting greenhouse gases to help consumers pay higher gasoline and electricity prices. The 54-43 vote Tuesday is nonbinding.

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicagoans are so frustrated with broken parking meters and high costs, some are vandalizing the meters. They are taking more of your quarters every day. And Chicagoans are in revolt. While some are saying enough by avoiding them, others are taking out their frustrations on the parking meters - literally! CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports with the anger behind the new meter rate increases. You think eight is enough? How about 12? That's how many quarters buy an hour of parking time in some places now. And its why some people have had enough. Near...

Michigan Tax Alert: Senate Bill 45 Take Action! Michigan Tax Alert: Your state senator just proposed a tax increase! Bill Number: SB 45 Bill Sponsors: Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-24), Sen. Jason Allen (R-37), Sen. John Pappageorge (R-13), Sen. Roger Kahn (R-32) This bill creates a new government bureaucracy to oversee the ongoing inspections of septic tanks. Home and business owners would be responsible to pay the fee for these inspections. The cost of new construction would also increase as a result of the additional fee. The taxpayer would also be on the hook to pay for the newly created On-site...

First, Arthur Santa-Maria called Bank of America to ask how to check the balance of his new unemployment benefits debit card. The bank charged him 50 cents. He chose not to complain. That would have cost another 50 cents. So he took out some of the money and then decided to pull out the rest. But that made two withdrawals on the same day, and that was $1.50.

The FDIC needs an infusion Concerns about the long-term solvency of the FDIC has prompted the insurance fund to approve a one-time “emergency” fee and other assessment increases within the banking industry. “Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year,” [Chairman Sheila] Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group. “A large number” of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of “rapidly deteriorating economic conditions,” Bair said in the letter. “Without...

Like a lot of California drivers, Dave Soss just got a $490 lesson on how the state budget really works. It all began when Soss, who lives in the East Bay, was ticketed Feb. 1 for rolling through a red light while making a right turn in Emeryville - and was hit with what he called a "mind-blowing" penalty.For starters, there was the $100 base fine. Most of that goes to Emeryville, and the leftovers go to Alameda County. Then comes the real hit:-- A $100 state penalty - $70 of which is divvied up among a dozen programs, including...

Senate Democrats plan to push ahead with a plan to raise vehicle registration fees to pay for highway and bridge repairs without the support of Republican leaders. The measure (Senate Bill 108) has three main parts. Starting this year, it would tack on fees to vehicle registrations — $32 for passenger cars and many sport utility vehicles — and impose a $2 daily fee on rental cars. To raise more money in the future, it would allow tolling of existing highways and try out a plan to charge drivers based on the number of miles they travel as a possible...

LOS ANGELES – "SpongeBob SquarePants" might get squeezed off Time Warner Cable. Media giant Viacom Inc. said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark for 13 million subscribers at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal with Time Warner Cable Inc. is not agreed upon by then. The impasse would mean "SpongeBob" and other popular shows like Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report" will be cut off on the nation's second-largest cable operator.

NY officials want older trucks fitted with emission-reducing equipment; cost put at $195M ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York is taking steps to reduce diesel emissions in its construction fleet. The Department of Environmental Conservation is floating proposed regulations requiring trucks made before 2007 to be fitted with emissions-reducing equipment and to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel by 2011. The new regulations would apply only to state-owned trucks or trucks used for state contract work. The DEC estimates it will cost $195 million to retrofit about 30,000 state trucks. The New York State

There’s no “change” when it comes to politics as usual in The Empire State, in fact the Emperor’s latest edict is not being well-received. Gov. Paterson’s proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too. Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an “iPod tax” that taxes the sale of downloaded music and other “digitally delivered entertainment services.” “We’re going to have to take some extreme measures,” Paterson said Tuesday after unveiling the slash-and-burn budget....