Spain Levies Consumption Tax on Sunlight

Why are people so upset when the US is attempting to collect Rain Tax?

No one did anything about that.

Homeowners Targeted With “Rain Tax” for Rain that Falls on their Property

frontpagemag.com...

If you thought they ran out of ways to tax us you badly misjudged our lawmakers’ creativity. Get ready for their newest invention, the rain tax.

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.

news.yahoo.com...

The 10 areas affected by the "rain tax" include Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Hartford, Charles, Frederick, Baltimore counties, and Baltimore city.

"Fees will be calculated on the surface area of properties as the theory is that roofs, driveways and carparks create more potential for drainage problems and water contamination," Metro explains. "Councils are supposed to determine how much to charge per square foot, but the fee depends on the size of the building and surrounding paved surfaces."

But how will tax collectors know how to tax "impervious surfaces"? How will they know how much to charge per square foot?

Again, we turn to The Gazette: "Thanks to satellite imagery and geographic information systems, Big Brother can measure your roof and driveway (and you thought drones were only used for killing terrorists)."

Get mad everyone. But just remember to start at home because looking "over there" does no good at home.

Peace

The first thing I want to make clear is that yes, this sounds like something that an EU-governed nation would get up to.

However, I am not quite sure about the verity of this news item. I followed the source link, which tracked back to a news site in Costa Rica called "El Pais." Nothing wrong with that, but after quite a bit of Google search, it seems most of the search results keep tracking back to the source link the OP gave.

I thought this was odd. Something like this should be big news in Spain...considering the implications. So I thought I'd seek out news websites for Spain.

Here are three sites I found:

The Local
El Pais (Spain Edition)
The Olive Press

I searched all over these sites (El Pais will need Google Translate or similar translator), and couldn't find anything about this solar tax. Some of the search terms I used were: tax, solar tax, royal decrees, Alberto Nadal (the legislator who reportedly signed the law). I did find related articles about profit caps for companies in the solar energy industry, and references to homeowner incentives to sell excess/unused solar power to local energy providers.

I am not trying to be argumentative here, just in case someone decides to take a defensive posture. And I know that we all click on threads here which we suspect are silly or baseless, just to see the story. But something like this really should be checked out for more than one verifying source.

reply to post by shaneslaughta



No....you just need to chill out.

If you can react like that to conjecture you are going to be a sorry individual when anything real actually happens.

Originally posted by PuterMan


I think that they should tax urine.

now that really would be taking the piss!
leave myrine alone!

the ridiculousness of it all!

the old goes out in a blaze of absurdity.

all is for the very best.

well the same extra taks is now in holland too !
every privat owner of solarpanels ore windmill is seen as an producer of energy so they have to pay the same company taxes that are regulair for stated energy companies and small buinisses..
all and all seen....

green energy is one big scam !!!!!

Originally posted by HUMBLEONE
Why must we pay for anything on a planet that we were born on?

because when we were born our mother and farther gave up our rights to freedom by registering us into the sytem they get a certificate and we get slave taxed for the rest of our lives

conclusion:
farming is the key word
just behave as brave cattle leaded by oure wise farmers

reply to post by PuterMan


I'm not surprised at all.

The EU-centralists want us, the people and nations of Europe, to be dependent on their system...
They can't have us obtain tax-free energy from an uncontrolled and unlimited source... that would make us independent.
Also, there is not much of real value left to tax in Spain.

Next step: tax the thin air of Europe.

reply to post by PuterMan
you can't use urine as a fertilizer, the ammonia is horrible for plants. they'll have to tax you at the other end for that. and they probably will.

I used to live in Spain and many new - build apartments were being built with solar panels on the roofs .

Found this article which seems to imply Madrid at least supports more solar :

www.nbcnews.com...

What about all the people who bought already thinking they were doing the right thing ?

Am I missing something from the OP ?

Originally posted by shaneslaughta
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

Silly wabbit..."They" are in control of everything....."They"....tax the land we live on and farm on fish on and hunt on.
Don't you know they can tax your urine output should someone convince them there is money to be made.


Um, urine is taxed in the UK! its part of the water services bill, consumed water is paid at one rate, 'waste' water is paid for at another rate. its metered at so much per cubic meter.(consumed water)

reply to post by PuterMan


I am going to law claim to the oxygen in my state and privatize it.

There is a method to both highlight and beat this criminal insanity senseless...everyone in Spain, go out and buy and install at least one solar panel, even if it's a tiny one and use it to generate electricity.

Then tell the government you have one, are using it and have NO intention of paying anything to anyone for the use of the free energy the sun provides.

How many people are living in Spain?

Does anyone think they will be able to drag millions of people to court? The very notion of even attempting to take 100's of 1000's of people to court on ludicrous and outrageously corrupt 'charges' would all by itself, completely bankrupt the entire country, while turning Spain into an international laughing stock.

They may as well set the 'fine' for using Solar energy without paying some smug corrupt git taxes at something like 30 Trillion Euros...nobody will be paying it...ever.

Go buy a panel, plug it in, and use it - don't pay the lunatics a penny...oh yes, make a note of the names involved with the drafting, support and advancement of this legislation, and don't - repeat don't - EVER - vote for these corrupt idiots again...finish their useless and bent careers for them, before they finish you.

This goes for just about any other nutjob any of us make the mistake of giving undeserved power over our lives, in any democratic country on Earth...if they do stuff like this here madness...get rid of them asap, and really asap too.

If they rig elections trying to make it so you can't get rid of the rubbish in government, PI's and Investigative reporters team up and dig up their very lives, hold a microscope to their personal and business lives, rifle through their trash, monitor every minute of their lives and FIND the dirt, the criminality, the scandals..because with corruption this big, there will be plenty of dirt...dig up enough to bury the bastards and let them have it...they'll go.

Remember...if your wrist watch has a 1cm x 0.5cm solar panel on it, you'll be liable for tax...if your calculator has one, you'd liable for tax, if you have a vehicle solar battery trickle charger - you'd be liable for tax.

When exactly is enough lunacy, enough lunacy for you to act?

It's not a necessity it's just another way to raise more taxes and to protect the corporate interests of politicians friends.

It's no different to the umbrella tax that was imposed in Italy on cafe's etc where they had them on tables to give shade to their customers, or the window tax in Georgian England, which is why you see so many buildings of that era where you can clearly see that where there were once windows there are now bricks, or the privatisation of rain water in Bolivia, it all belonged to the corporation who ran the water supply who were extorting the people.

I can't see how any government can make it illegal or effectively tax people on something that they don't actually own and that has no value in monetary terms.

Scoundrels and crooks the lot of them.

Originally posted by PuterMan
reply to post by shaneslaughta

 

No I think you missed my point.

I was agreeing with you. Their "saving the planet" has nothing to do with saving the planet, only about making money.

 

Don't you know they can tax your urine output should someone convince them there is money to be made.

I think that they should tax urine.

(1) It can be used as a sterile wash thus depriving Big Pharma of profits
(2) If can be used as fertiliser thus depriving Big Agri of profits

On the last point there is a serious proposal to commercially harvest urine for the phosphorus content.

edit on 26/7/2013 by PuterMan because: (no reason given)

They already take the right piss out of all of us.

This is just the rich imposing shamelessly in their face their controlling handing over the poor. When it gets to appoint of laws like this being made I start to think of the catalyst ignitition of the The French revolution and war of independence.

reply to post by ValentineWiggin


It was some time ago when I found the article but I will see if I can find it again.

May take me a day or two.



Well OK a minute or two. Firefox history search is very good!

Here is an article You Need Phosphorus to Live—and We're Running Out on Mother Jones.

At the very end of the article is a link to a PDF

And it wouldn't hurt to figure out safe ways to reuse an abundant source of P: human pee (PDF). (There's enough phosphorus in your annual output of urine to provide P for more than half of all the grain you consume in a year.)

In the abstract and of course in the body you will find



I know I have read another source that talks about the commercial harvesting of urine, but at least this link should get you started in researching.

reply to post by jude11


I did hear something of this and could not believe it.

Here in Ireland we are encourage to utilise the water from our roofs and other run off.

By the way, doesn't the run off from the roof end up in the ground? Ours does. All rainwater goes to soakaways.

reply to post by Jodash


No probs friend. If it is not true it is not. Let's face it there is much of that on the net. As you say however it is just the sort of thing that the EU would do.

reply to post by ressiv


There you go ressiv. And I always thought Holland was such a progressive place, and so sensible and has trains that arrived exactly on time, and beautiful if flat countryside and wonderful multilingual people - and yet it seems they can elect idiots to tax home produced power! I shake my head. Edit to add the shake - I forgot it! :shk: