A tax so high it might just take your breath away

This column contains an idea that will take your breath away, not to mention most of your money.But don’t worry, our elected officials will never think of it.Let me start by saying that it might just be me, but I’m starting to feel that the people who create our tax laws don’t only want to take away some of our money — they want it all.

Consider this. New Jersey will soon have something called the rainfall tax. This is a real tax, but no need to explain here except that it’s a tax on something so common that it is a brilliant idea for padding the state’s troubled treasury.

Jersey also allows people to gamble in casinos, at the racetrack, on their phones and wherever lottery tickets are sold, which add up to hidden taxes on people. And, if things go right, the state will also let you do all this while smoking heavily taxed marijuana.

New York isn’t far behind on any of this — sports betting, pot and God-knows-what-other-taxes will be coming from the clever minds of our revenue-starved, spendthrift politicians. Then there’s the “congestion pricing” tax on cars going into Manhattan, which means that theaters and restaurants will probably be losing carloads of customers who prefer to drive rather than take public transportation.

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