WaterfowlForum.Net

In case you guys missed this gem. We're going to be taxed on the rainfall on our property, using "satellite surveillance". No, this isn't a joke.

Maryland Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley has instituted a tax on citizens for the amount of rain that falls on their property. The tax, officially known as a "storm water management fee," will be enforced in nine of the state's counties. The state legislature passed it in 2012 purportedly to "raise revenue to cleanup [sic] the Chesapeake Bay," according to MarylandReporter.com. Former 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino bashes the tax in a Wednesday afternoon press release. The law "requires individuals, businesses, and even charitable organizations and houses of worship to pay a tax based on the amount of rain that falls on their property and the 'impervious surfaces' on their land," he says. The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated "through satellite surveillance of your property," the statement claims.

In 2010 the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency ordered Maryland to reduce stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay so that nitrogen levels fall 22 percent and phosphorus falls 15 percent from current amounts. The price tag: $14.8 billion. And where do we get the $14.8 billion? By taxing so-called “impervious surfaces,” anything that prevents rain water from seeping into the earth (roofs, driveways, patios, sidewalks, etc.) thereby causing stormwater run off. In other words, a rain tax. The EPA ordered Maryland to raise the money (an unfunded mandate), Maryland ordered its 10 largest counties to raise the money (another unfunded mandate) and, now, each of those counties is putting a local rain tax in place by July 1.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/11/heres-whats-included-in-marylands-controversial-rain-tax-its-exactly-what-it-sounds-like/

Oh, and let's not forget this little detail:

Also: “State lawmakers exempted government-owned property from the rain tax but imposed it on religions and nonprofits (which own big roofs and parking lots).”

You have got to be shitting me.

Good Lord.

Wow! What's next a sunshine tax? Sorry Assa, hope this doesn't give them any ideas.

The more you talk about it, the more Maryland sounds like a shitty place to be.

What the FUCK??????

Are you shitting me????????

I would pack up and leave that state before they tax your breathing.

Awesome

Yea I said it, big whoop. Wanna fight about it?

Shouldn't the rainwater be taken care of by the public storm drain systems in place? Something in that whole system has to be fucked if stormwater is making that big of an impact on the bay. Seems like it is the fault of the city planners to me; maybe the smart people in charge have never heard of BMPs.

Also, how can they prove via satellite imagery that all the water falling on the impervious surfaces of a property indeed become runoff? I would imagine they would need soil surveys to determine how much water can seep into the ground before becoming overland flow.

Seems pretty sketchy to me.

That has got to ne the most retarded thing I've ever heard about.

This has got to be a joke.

Bulldog0156 wrote:Shouldn't the rainwater be taken care of by the public storm drain systems in place? Something in that whole system has to be fucked if stormwater is making that big of an impact on the bay. Seems like it is the fault of the city planners to me; maybe the smart people in charge have never heard of BMPs.

I'm sure any problems with the Bay are due to rainwater coming from my driveway and roof. And nothing at all to do with the Port of Baltimore, and the Susquehanna River draining half of Pennsylvania before filling the Bay.

I gotta go- need to get busy painting those huge middle fingers on the barn roofs. (Rooves?)

Olly wrote:This has got to be a joke.

Not in the least. It's going to put $14.8 billion into the treasury. And the kicker- they have no idea on how they're going to spend it, or what steps it will find to "help" the Bay. Any bets on where it ends up?

We are solidly in the running to replace CA as "most fucked up state". When the time comes, I'm just gonna spin in a circle and shoot.

Another snow day, jr walks out of his room to hear me talking the lady about your rain tax, jr says "what's going on, time to go to war or something" lol

Jim you strike me as a Yooper all the way. Take the family for a visit, hangout up here for a week and you'll never leave.

Olly wrote:Jim you strike me as a Yooper all the way. Take the family for a visit, hangout up here for a week and you'll never leave.

I hate winter. Ain't gonna happen.

jehler wrote:Another snow day, jr walks out of his room to hear me talking the lady about your rain tax, jr says "what's going on, time to go to war or something" lol

That boy was raised right.

Olly wrote:Jim you strike me as a Yooper all the way. Take the family for a visit, hangout up here for a week and you'll never leave.

Until the mosquitos and black flies hatch.

And 6 years ago I was offered a job at Ft. Meade or Ft. Leavenworth. Kinda glad I chose Ft. Leavenworth.

goodkarmarising wrote:And 6 years ago I was offered a job at Ft. Meade or Ft. Leavenworth. Kinda glad I chose Ft. Leavenworth.

We both keep trying to get Assateague to move out to paradise on the plains, but to no avail.

Maybe we should pray for more rain so he can go bankrupt and force him to go west young man....

Assateague, did you know suppresors are legal in Kansas?

Paradise on the plains? When did you get maple syrup and salt water?

flight control wrote:Paradise on the plains? When did you get maple syrup and salt water?

Life is what you make it brother. I make lemon aid everywhere I go.

At least we dont have a rain tax!!!

Tomkat wrote:

flight control wrote:Paradise on the plains? When did you get maple syrup and salt water?

Life is what you make it brother. I make lemon aid everywhere I go.

At least we dont have a rain tax!!!

Just messin with you, but I couldn't imagine moving away from the salt. Its my own piece of paradise

I hear ya. Its all in what you want. I love the position I am in here. Close to my family and friends, two boats, close to two large lakes. TomKat heaven.


Sent from an undisclosed location in central Kansas.

These laws have been assumed by Maryland and most other states assume jurisdiction of this portion of the Clean Water Act; so thats not unusual. Whats is so wrong with this is that for many many years construction and designs among other activities that affect water quality already have had to comply with these existing laws/stormwater design manuals to ensure proper treatment of waters before they reach other surface waters. If this tax is real they are essentially saying what we've making you comply with under these laws for all this time (abiding by these laws is an expensive process to begin with having to hire engineers to design stormwater pprotection plans and stamp them) isn't enough so we are just gunna fill the ditches with cash to soak up run off pollutants too. Many states MD included are pushing green infrastructure within these stormwater manuals. So you got some poor sap who spent extra money to install the new porous concrete so he can treat more water on his property and good for him, but Im sure the pencil pushing dicknose whos measuring impervious square footage from google earth wont differentiate and tax him the same. This is weird.

flight control wrote:That has got to ne the most retarded thing I've ever heard about.

I'm going to go ahead and second that.

wtf????

Tomkat wrote:

goodkarmarising wrote:And 6 years ago I was offered a job at Ft. Meade or Ft. Leavenworth. Kinda glad I chose Ft. Leavenworth.

We both keep trying to get Assateague to move out to paradise on the plains, but to no avail.

Maybe we should pray for more rain so he can go bankrupt and force him to go west young man....

Assateague, did you know suppresors are legal in Kansas?

Legal in Texas as well. Actually just became a lot easy to get one.

This rainwater tax has absolutely nothing to do with rainwater, It does have something to do with satellite survellance on the residents. You are going to be paying the government to use satellites to look into your windows. You are funding a spy program!

I'm not funding shit. Wouldn't be the first tax bill I've owed.