After a long and sometimes heated debate, a new U.S. Farm Bill was passed this week (being in a College of Ag, I'm required to know this for continued employment). Inside the bill is a little provision that is sure to spoil almost no one's holidays next year:
Tucked inside the massive new farm bill, which House Republican leaders are speeding to the floor, is a controversial 15-cent fee the government will collect on every Christmas tree cut in or imported into the U.S.
Dubbed the “Christmas tree tax” by opponents — a term to which industry backers vehemently object — it is an idea that’s been kicking around the Capitol for years, but finally got enough support to land inside the 959-page farm bill.
Here are my and John's take on the Tannenbaum Tax, or Christmas Tree Fee, or Scrooge Screw, or Grinch Pinch, or Pagan Price, or Yule Tithe, or whatever you want to call it, from 2011.
