I've had enough of Christmas. All year long I work my fingers to the bone to buy all the presents that my kids ask for and what happens Christmas morning? That fat fucker with the beard gets all the credit for it!








Still I suppose it was my fault for marrying her.

That was good, cats

Dammit, was I supposed to tip the chainsaw-and-netting guy at Lowe's? We got our Christmas tree tonight and I didn't even think about it...the guy kind of disappeared right after he handed the tree off and I didn't think about it till later. Oh well.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-st...50105698-3.jpg

I just watched episode 1 of The Grand Tour. That was an immensely gratifying opening sequence.

The rest of the show seemed oddly familiar somehow, though I can't quite put my finger on it...

I got the tingles when the other 2 pulled up beside him.

I was underwhelmed. And the test driver is terrible and not funny. (to this American at least).

Don't like test driver either. First episode was better than the second one. Hopefully no more downward trajectory when the third one plays.

Yeah, there were a number of things that seemed either awkward or just un-funny. Like "we know that we have to do this thing because everyone expects us to do it," like the Celebrity Brain-Crash bit, the "let's get beaten up by Americans" bit, and pretty much everything else that happened inside the tent.

On the other hand, the writing, performance, and production values in the produced packages (the field test segments) were absolutely spot-on, and didn't seem at all pandering.

Hey, it's a new show. Need a reality check? Go back and watch the first season of Top Gear. It's amazing they didn't get cancelled.

On an unrelated note, this arouses me oddly: https://www.eliomotors.com/

I mean, I can't help but be pessimistic and assume that they'll fail spectacularly just like everyone else* who has tried to re-invent the automobile in the 21st century. But it's still an interesting idea.

So you think buying the domain elioturbo.net would be premature?

I'm tempted...



Serious question:

In most jurisdictions within the US, you have to pay a tax on the purchase of shoes, but not on the purchase of real estate. And, conversely, you have to pay a recurring annual tax on the ownership of real estate, but not on the ownership of shoes.

Why is this?

Because shoes wear out and are thrown away.

That's not really a satisfactory answer.

1: A good pair of shoes can be maintained and repaired to last a lifetime.

2: Gold doesn't wear out and get thrown away, and yet we don't pay a recurring annual tax on the ownership of gold. Same goes for a breeding pair of cats, or a copyright.

3: From whence came the idea that certain non-perishable goods should be taxed annually in the first place, but others not?

How about it costs the city, county, state or whatever more to maintain the infrastructure for a plot of land than a pair of shoes? Besides cars, what else is taxed annually? Inventory?

Well, you do pay *a* tax on the purchase of real estate (actually, you probably pay several), it's just not the same tax or the same rate as the pair of shoes (although there are half a dozen states with no sales tax on shoes either -- or anything else for that matter).

As for why, fundamentally it's because the government can get away with charging you 10% sales tax on a pair of shoes, but if they tried to do that on real estate transactions it would screw up a ton of things that people who vote care about, and they'd get kicked out of office.

Why does California charge sales tax on private party sales of used cars, but not on used books or used turbo parts or used panties (wait, that's Japan). Because they can. Cars have to be registered, which means you have to tell them you bought one, which means they can ask how much you paid and then force you to pay tax on it. Not so on the other used goods.

--Ian

Tangible personal property tax exists in Florida. I'm not sure where else. Details here: FL Dept Rev - Tangible Personal Property

It is a recurring tax on assets like the machines I sell.

Related subject - If you buy a $40k new car and pay, in Florida, 6% sales tax on it of $2400 then sell that same car a few years later for $20k, the state collects another 6% on that sale. That's $1200 more. But the vehicle was already taxed on that same $20k of value. Why are they allowed to double tax? Because they write the rules.

I don't like that after you purchase a piece of real estate outright you must continue to rent it from the government in perpetuity. We actually own little or nothing of what we think we own.

Remember when everyone was going to have one of these?
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2960aeaf7e.jpg

Because it's easier to tax your property annually than it is to charge you separate line items to maintain the water lines which run under it, the power lines which run over it, the firefighting and police services which protect it, the sidewalks which safely carry pedestrians and shitting dogs across it, the schools which educate it, the trash collection and disposal service which cleans it, the city council and magistrate court which writes and adjudicates laws about it, the snow plows and salt which keep it accessible...

Well, to be fair, I suspect that some or many of those things are indeed line items depending upon which municipality your real property resides within.

The existence of a pair of shoes on the other hand, generally doesn't cost the government anything to maintain, but they have found that, to a certain extent, they can get away with a tea tax on shoes in order to reduce the tax on property.

A government wouldn't want to rely too heavily on the tea tax, because they claim it disproportionally taxes low income people; a 10% tea tax might consume 7-8% of the income of a family of 4 living in a small apartment, while that same tea tax might only consume 2-3% of the income of a similar family living on a large estate, for a family which earns 50 times as much doesn't have 50 times as many shoes.

When I purchased my house, my lawyer made a very strong point that I own the title to the house and the deed to the land it sits on. I pay taxes for all the services that the government provides to me, well most don't go to me, but rather to those don't actually pay taxes...except for schools since the majority of my taxes go to support the schools...wait I'm pulling extra weight for the schools too. Crap.

do your taxes pay for your utility bills?