If you are one of about 30-thousand residents in Nevada County who has had to pay a 150-dollar parcel fee for fire prevention, you are going to have to keep paying it. The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has voted to make the assessment permanent. Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant says the measure was implemented under a fiscal emergency last summer, but was never supposed to be just a one-time thing…
Berlant says the fee is necessary…
Others, however don’t look at it as a fee, but rather as a tax. That includes outgoing Assemblyman Jim Nielsen…
Nielsen says the tax is illegal because it was not approved by two-thirds of the legislature. Lawsuits are pending to try to stop it. Legislators say the fee brings in more than 89 million dollars statewide.
Chris in Colfax
Why does the TAX only apply to those who live in Cal Fire areas? Don't non-residents use roads in Cal Fire areas? Don't non-residents use recreation facilities in Cal Fire areas? Wasn't the recent Robbers fire, that cost tens of millions of dollars to contain, caused by a person who was not a resident of a Cal Fire area?
The reality is that it's easier to target a minority because they can't protest as loudly.
Tax everybody, or nobody.
B. McCombs
It's like the luxury tax levied during WW2. It was supposed to be only temporary but guess what, it's still in effect after 70 years! Now that they've been successful in levying this tax, just wait until they want some more money for something.
Carol
My fee was the reduced amount because there is a fire station in my neighborhood. I found it ironic that the $115 Fire PREVENTION Fee is about what my chimney sweep charges to actually PREVENT a fire! This is just one more way to pry money out of our wallets to fund even more over-administered, unneeded government.