Sales tax on food donations

What kind of pack of mindless, sellout hyenas could possibly pass a law that imposes a 25% tax on food donations meant for the homeless and the poor?
What kind of twisted mind comes up with this, especially when 43% of our youth are unemployed because there are no new jobs being created, the national unemployment rate sits at 16%, and we toss about 30% of our food annually—roughly 90kg per person... Furthermore, all that food ending up in landfills accounts for about 15% of global methane emissions, which apparently isn't an issue; the only concern is CO2 from citizens' private cars, which is 1,000 times weaker as a greenhouse gas.

Maybe science should provide the answer. Perhaps after the passing of all these "representatives" who spent years pushing and defending this law, their brains could be harvested and studied—much like Einstein's brain—to find the physical deformity or neurological defect that caused such insanity, so it could be identified and aborted early next time...

Of course, the logic is purely capitalist: by allowing the idle to survive comfortably, they demotivate people from selling their labor indefinitely, thereby ensuring the country remains uncompetitive in terms of providing a workforce of cheap slaves.
So, welcome to capitalism—this is just another logical consequence.

Biden's so-called "progressive" administration, following the lead of other nations after the 2008 crisis, spent their entire term "preparing" this food donation law and keeping it tucked away in a drawer, likely as part of Linić's efforts to ensure that everything that crawls, walks, or moves in this country contributes to the state. It seems if something doesn't generate sales tax for the government, it's considered "non-functional"—ranging from the lady at the local farmers market to the guy living on the street; everyone is expected to "function" and pay their share according to their means.
On the very last day of the term in late 2015, right before Linić was ousted, the tax was finally scrapped. However, they still slapped a cap on the value of donated food at a maximum of 2% of turnover, presumably so the beggars wouldn't get too emboldened and end up living better than, say, a Walmart cashier earning a standard average wage of $667
.
Yet, most donations supposedly come from individual citizens, while major retail chains mostly boycott them since they have to process any goods for donation a few days before the expiration date; you can't donate stuff past its prime because that's illegal, and naturally, that cuts into their potential profits. In terms of volume, only players like Walmart and Hershey's make a significant impact, while foreign chains generally opt out of donating.
Meanwhile, in France, which is in a much stronger economic position than the US, wasting food is actually a punishable offense.

So, knowing that this country has become an Eldorado for capitalists—who, in a nation that claims to be deeply religious and governed by a pious administration, ignore both Sundays and national holidays while tossing food in front of the 20% of citizens whose only friend is a dumpster—what do you think? Is this country just one giant corporate-kleptocratic-sellout banana republic that is rapidly reaching its expiration date—as evidenced by the endless lines of people fleeing the country daily—or do you believe it actually justifies its continued existence?

urbanhawk28 said:What kind of pack of mindless, sellout hyenas could possibly pass a law that imposes a 25% tax on food donations meant for the homeless and the poor?
What kind of twisted mind comes up with this, especially when 43% of our youth are unemployed because there are no new jobs being created, the national unemployment rate sits at 16%, and we toss about 30% of our food annually—roughly 90kg per person... Furthermore, all that food ending up in landfills accounts for about 15% of global methane emissions, which apparently isn't an issue; the only concern is CO2 from citizens' private cars, which is 1,000 times weaker as a greenhouse gas.

Maybe science should provide the answer. Perhaps after the passing of all these "representatives" who spent years pushing and defending this law, their brains could be harvested and studied—much like Einstein's brain—to find the physical deformity or neurological defect that caused such insanity, so it could be identified and aborted early next time...

Of course, the logic is purely capitalist: by allowing the idle to survive comfortably, they demotivate people from selling their labor indefinitely, thereby ensuring the country remains uncompetitive in terms of providing a workforce of cheap slaves.
So, welcome to capitalism—this is just another logical consequence.

Biden's so-called "progressive" administration, following the lead of other nations after the 2008 crisis, spent their entire term "preparing" this food donation law and keeping it tucked away in a drawer, likely as part of Linić's efforts to ensure that everything that crawls, walks, or moves in this country contributes to the state. It seems if something doesn't generate sales tax for the government, it's considered "non-functional"—ranging from the lady at the local farmers market to the guy living on the street; everyone is expected to "function" and pay their share according to their means.
On the very last day of the term in late 2015, right before Linić was ousted, the tax was finally scrapped. However, they still slapped a cap on the value of donated food at a maximum of 2% of turnover, presumably so the beggars wouldn't get too emboldened and end up living better than, say, a Walmart cashier earning a standard average wage of $667
.
Yet, most donations supposedly come from individual citizens, while major retail chains mostly boycott them since they have to process any goods for donation a few days before the expiration date; you can't donate stuff past its prime because that's illegal, and naturally, that cuts into their potential profits. In terms of volume, only players like Walmart and Hershey's make a significant impact, while foreign chains generally opt out of donating.
Meanwhile, in France, which is in a much stronger economic position than the US, wasting food is actually a punishable offense.

So, knowing that this country has become an Eldorado for capitalists—who, in a nation that claims to be deeply religious and governed by a pious administration, ignore both Sundays and national holidays while tossing food in front of the 20% of citizens whose only friend is a dumpster—what do you think? Is this country just one giant corporate-kleptocratic-sellout banana republic that is rapidly reaching its expiration date—as evidenced by the endless lines of people fleeing the country daily—or do you believe it actually justifies its continued existence?

The last time I checked this topic a few years back (there was a case in Germany), it turned out those rules are set at the European Union level. Basically, individual countries can't just decide to scrap Sales Tax on food or make their own exceptions because the European Union pushes for a unified Sales Tax policy across the board. I remember that interesting story about a bakery in Germany that wanted to give bread to the homeless. I guess there's some logic to it to prevent abuse, but man, it's crazy to throw food away instead of giving it to hungry people. I think things might be shifting slightly, but honestly, it probably has more to do with the European Union than with America. Since America follows these standards, we have to stick to the laws. I mean, you see the exact same situation in Germany and Austria too.

Nathan Morris3 said:The last time I checked this topic a few years back (there was a case in Germany), it turned out those rules are set at the European Union level. Basically, individual countries can't just decide to scrap Sales Tax on food or make their own exceptions because the European Union pushes for a unified Sales Tax policy across the board. I remember that interesting story about a bakery in Germany that wanted to give bread to the homeless. I guess there's some logic to it to prevent abuse, but man, it's crazy to throw food away instead of giving it to hungry people. I think things might be shifting slightly, but honestly, it probably has more to do with the European Union than with America. Since America follows these standards, we have to stick to the laws. I mean, you see the exact same situation in Germany and Austria too.

Well obviously, it isn't a problem for Germany or Austria, but it is for America, Spain, or Greece. So, if you think it's perfectly fine for 30% of food to be tossed while 20% of the population struggles to make ends meet, then you've lost your mind.

Of course, when they're drafting legislation in the major power centers, the priorities are always the same: a) corporate profits and maximizing market penetration in puppet colonies, and b) ensuring constant debt repayment to the banks, rather than the actual well-being of the citizens.
Even so, real nations—not these banana republics—like France, have pushed back by either criminalizing food waste or implementing a zero percent tax rate, similar to how Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain have handled it.

Bottom line: anyone who actually wanted to change things could have done so long ago. For our government, it's just not a priority. Our priority is someone else's massive profit margin. Our elites know their power depends far less on the people they represent, since most fools still vote based on ideology regardless of what's actually being done. They're more concerned with the true centers of power, acting essentially like local colonial governors.
We finally need to start asking ourselves who these people are sitting there representing us, and whose interests they are actually serving. It would be good if people got a clue before the last person from the Heartland buys a one-way ticket to Ireland.

urbanhawk28 said:Well obviously, it isn't a problem for Germany or Austria, but it is for America, Spain, or Greece. So, if you think it's perfectly fine for 30% of food to be tossed while 20% of the population struggles to make ends meet, then you've lost your mind.

Of course, when they're drafting legislation in the major power centers, the priorities are always the same: a) corporate profits and maximizing market penetration in puppet colonies, and b) ensuring constant debt repayment to the banks, rather than the actual well-being of the citizens.
Even so, real nations—not these banana republics—like France, have pushed back by either criminalizing food waste or implementing a zero percent tax rate, similar to how Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain have handled it.

Bottom line: anyone who actually wanted to change things could have done so long ago. For our government, it's just not a priority. Our priority is someone else's massive profit margin. Our elites know their power depends far less on the people they represent, since most fools still vote based on ideology regardless of what's actually being done. They're more concerned with the true centers of power, acting essentially like local colonial governors.
We finally need to start asking ourselves who these people are sitting there representing us, and whose interests they are actually serving. It would be good if people got a clue before the last person from the Heartland buys a one-way ticket to Ireland.

Is there really nothing wrong with Germany? I mean, it's definitely an issue. I guess I remember this being such a huge topic back around 2012. Do you honestly think a hungry German is feeling any less empty than a hungry American? Maybe not.

Quincy Jones:

Quincy Jones: It’s also just wild to see food being tossed out like that instead of giving it to people who actually need it, I guess. I mean, if you think it’s okay that 30% of our food just goes to waste while 20% of Americans can't even make ends meet, then maybe you've lost it. I guess.

I say it’s crazy to waste food, then you hit me with, "if you think wasting food is okay, you're out of your mind." I guess maybe you're just some illiterate troll or something? Sorry, I really don't have the energy for an argument.

Quincy Jones:

I guess when they're drafting laws at the European Union level, the big power centers mostly care about corporate profits and moving products through those puppet territories. Maybe they also just want to keep paying off those countries' debts back to their own banks instead of actually looking out for the people living there. And honestly, even real countries—not just some disorganized mess—have figured this out. I guess places like France have stepped up, whether it's by making food waste illegal or cutting taxes to zero, kind of like how they do it in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, or Spain. Maybe that's the way to go.

It's all pretty recent stuff, which is why I mentioned we've seen some real movement on this lately. I guess that's a good thing, maybe.
I guess you might be overthinking it a bit and making it sound more dramatic than it really is. There are actual tax laws that dictate what counts as a donation versus a deductible business expense, not to mention all the VAT regulations. I mean, sure, it’s obviously in the food industry's interest to toss stuff, but we should probably look at the whole picture. On the flip side, you have a baker who writes off unsold goods to lower their taxes, only to sell them under the table and screw over everyone else paying their fair share.

There are different models over in Europe, but most are less than a year old—maybe two at most. Like that one setup in France with those massive supermarkets over 400 square meters (even though we're only talking about 5% food waste). I guess I don't really see it the way you do on this topic; it’s not like America has been lagging behind the rest of Europe for decades. Still, I suppose we should probably adopt the models from those more advanced European Union countries, even if most of them aren't actually that far ahead.

Quincy Jones:

I guess people who wanted to get things done could have acted on it a long time ago. Maybe.

I don't think that's quite right. From what I gather, those major hurdles in the European Union laws weren't really cleared until around 2013. So, maybe that's why things only started looking up recently.

Quincy Jones:

Our country isn't even the priority here; it feels like everyone's just chasing someone else's massive profit margins. I guess our elites realize they don't really need to answer to us, since most people still vote based on party lines regardless of what actually happens. It’s more like they're acting as local governors for actual power centers elsewhere. So, maybe we should finally start asking who these people actually are and whose interests they're serving. It would probably be good if people realized this before the last person from the Midwest packs up and moves to Ireland.

Sorry, but I think your tone is a bit much. I totally get why you're passionate about this, and I support the cause, but I don't think problems get solved with rhetoric like that (even though I'm not saying you're wrong).

If the government really feels like they have to slap a tax on something, they could always just balance things out with tax credits or some other kind of incentive program. It’s not rocket science.

It honestly feels like we’re absolute pros at finding loopholes whenever there’s a way to squeeze some extra cash out of something shady. But the second someone mentions "charity" or "helping people," suddenly everyone is an expert at finding a million excuses to bypass the rules.

It honestly feels like such a waste to slap a sales tax on food that just ends up being tossed in the trash... if they're just going to throw it away anyway, why charge it? 😁