Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
Vanguard To Merge Florida Tax-Exempt Fund, Trims Wellington Expense Ratio
Some people have been scoffing at the idea of a government taxing bank accounts (that seems to be a topic du jour). They might keep in mind the late, hardly lamented, Florida intangibles tax. While it is true that this did not tax bank accounts, it did tax money market funds.
Just a friendly reminder that most stuff that's "unheard of", is only stuff you haven't heard of.
I also wonder what took Vanguard so long to get rid of its Florida fund. Vanguard tends to move only after carefully deliberating changes, but really, six years?
Reply to @Investor: The Florida tax was indeed eliminated in 2007. (Perhaps I was being too oblique in my reference to Cypress?) The elimination of the Florida tax (and the subsequent, albeit tardy, elimination of funds designed to circumvent that tax) serves as a reminder that almost any asset, including bank accounts, is fair game for taxation.
Common taxes on assets include real property taxes and automobile taxes (typically as registration fees that are a percentage of the auto value). Taxes on investment accounts are less common, but Florida shows there's nothing conceptually/legally wrong with them. A quick search turned up an intangibles tax in Ohio, from 1933 to 1983, that was used to fund the state's libraries. The code repealing the tax is here.
Comments
Just a friendly reminder that most stuff that's "unheard of", is only stuff you haven't heard of.
I also wonder what took Vanguard so long to get rid of its Florida fund. Vanguard tends to move only after carefully deliberating changes, but really, six years?
Common taxes on assets include real property taxes and automobile taxes (typically as registration fees that are a percentage of the auto value). Taxes on investment accounts are less common, but Florida shows there's nothing conceptually/legally wrong with them. A quick search turned up an intangibles tax in Ohio, from 1933 to 1983, that was used to fund the state's libraries. The code repealing the tax is here.