Barack Obama Was Almost the Grinch Who Taxed Christmas Trees

COMMENTARY | When the news came out that President Obama's Agriculture Department was imposing a tax on Christmas trees just in time for the holidays, it seemed like a joke story coming out of The Onion or from right-wing talk radio.

The story is true, however. The Agriculture Department is imposing a 15-cent per tree tax, which it calls a fee, in order to pay for the expenses of a board that is being created to promote the Christmas tree industry. The tax would be slapped on producers or importers of Christmas trees so long as they sell more than 500 trees a year.

A number of observations come to mind.

First, is there no aspect of American life that the Obama administration does not propose to sully with either taxes or regulations? Getting a tree from a nursery or the local supermarket, setting it in the living room, and then decorating it is an American tradition and is one of the more pleasant memories of childhood, next only to finding what was left under the tree on Christmas morning. Now Barack Obama has stretched out his hand and is demanding payment for the privilege.

What next? A tax on turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce? How about a levy on wrapping paper?

Second, do we really need a board of overpaid bureaucrats to tell people that putting up a tree on Christmas is pretty cool? Even those who use artificial trees with LCD lights get that. This has the dimensions of somebody's bright idea of creating more public sector jobs for their cronies, doing useless stuff with money extorted from the American people. One does not have to be an acolyte of Ron Paul to find that objectionable.

The answer that the tax is only 15 cents misses the point. There is a principle here. Besides, there is nothing to prevent that tax from increasing as the government finds more things to spend money on.

If Christmas tree merchants want a special board to promote their industry, it seems that they should pay for it themselves. There is no need to ask President Obama to be the Grinch who taxed Christmas trees.

And, indeed, President Obama seems to agree. He has called off the tax.