Rebuttal-Phillyfan321

My Thesis is that the NJ Sales Tax is not regressive because it does tax luxury or non-essential items and essential items are exempt.

So while the NJ sales tax does not tax groceries, clothing, and prescription medication, it does tax many items that people buy almost everyday that are not essential but people buy anyway. An example of this would be a daily trip to a convenience store for a cup of coffee. This cup of coffee is considered a non-essential item,so it is taxed. According to the NJ Sales Tax Guide, a cup of coffee bought ready to drink is taxable. Let’s say that cup of coffee costs $1, the current 7% tax adds the cost to $1.07. So after buying a cup of coffee every day the amount of tax one pays can add up over time, after 15 days the tax adds up to over $1. For someone who works two low wage jobs, that cup of coffee can prevent them from falling asleep on the job, so in a way the NJ sales tax does tax an essential item for people. Though I can counter this argument by saying that coffee beans are not taxable. So if someone brews their own coffee at home, they are avoiding the sales tax.

Another example of the sales tax taxing something that can be essential is labor. The State of New Jersey generally writes memos that makes it easy for consumers and people who own a business to know what is taxable and not taxable. In one memo, the State Division of Taxation says that labor like maintenance or landscaping are subject to the sales tax. So if a family is in desperate need of a new floor or had damage done due to a natural disaster, then they are paying a tax. But, insurance premiums are not taxed, so the family can buy home insurance to avoid paying the sales tax. Paying for insurance in general is better than having to pay the costs completely out of pocket. The insurance company will pay for the labor and materials.

While this may not be an issue now as much as it may have been twenty or thirty years ago, but the sales tax does tax tobacco products, which many people still use today. Some people struggling with nicotine addiction may say that cigarettes are essential for them. While the State of New Jersey not only makes tobacco subject to the sales tax, the State sets minimum prices on a pack of twenty cigarettes. According the an article from the State Division of Taxation there is a minimum price that a retailer can sell a pack of cigarettes for. It is an obvious fact that one does not need cigarettes to survive. So the sales tax should be applied to tobacco, but nicotine gum is exempt. A person who is trying to quit smoking can buy nicotine gum, which is tax free.

-Works Cited-

“NJ Sales Tax Guide.” (n.d.): n. pag. 2006.<http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/sales/su4.pdf&gt;.

NJ Division of Taxation – S & U Tax: Home Improvements.” NJ Division of Taxation – S & U Tax: Home Improvements. N.p., 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. b. 13 Nov. 2016. <http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/su_6.shtml&gt;.

NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF TAXATION MINIMUM LEGAL PRICES ON CIGARETTES AS OF AUGUST 2, 2016 (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/mlpcig.pdf

5 thoughts on “Rebuttal-Phillyfan321”

  1. I’m pretty sure I don’t understand your logic, PhillyFan.

    My Thesis is that the NJ Sales Tax is not regressive because it does not tax luxury or non-essential items.

    To understand this claim, I would have to believe, with you, that a tax that added significantly to the cost of luxury items was regressive. If that’s true, your claim that the Sales Tax is NOT regressive because it DOES NOT tax luxury items would make sense. I’ll be very disappointed if you tell me you were just sloppy and meant to say that it DOES tax luxury items. I’d rather hear that you were very careful to get your claims right.

    So while the NJ sales tax does not tax groceries, clothing, and prescription medication, it does tax many items that people buy almost everyday that are not essential but people buy anyway. An example of this would be a daily trip to a convenience store for a cup of coffee.

    The rule here is pretty simple and understandable, right? Prepared foods are taxed while produce and meal ingredients are not. The convenience store coffee qualifies as prepared food, doesn’t it? What would make taxing it a regressive action? If the burden of that tax fell disproportionately on the poor? I’m not seeing any evidence so far that you are using the word “regressive” in any particular way

    This cup of coffee is considered a non-essential item, so it is taxed. According to the NJ Sales Tax Guide, a cup of coffee bought ready to drink is taxable. Let’s say that cup of coffee costs $1, the current 7% tax adds the cost to $1.07. So after buying a cup of coffee every day the amount of tax one pays can add up over time, after 15 days the tax adds up to over $1. For someone who works two low wage jobs, that cup of coffee can prevent them from falling asleep on the job, so in a way the NJ sales tax does tax an essential item for people.

    Even if you do make a compelling case that coffee is essential, you won’t have proved that brewed, convenience coffee is essential since workers could brew their own coffee and bring it to work. In either case, the income disparity factor doesn’t seem to apply, so what exactly DO you mean by regressive?

    Though I can counter this argument by saying that coffee beans are not taxable. So if someone brews their own coffee at home, they are avoiding the sales tax.

    Agreed. Just as milkshakes made at home avoid sales tax, and grilled cheese sandwiches, and tomato soup. They’re also avoiding the huge markups restaurants would charge for the same items purchased for immediate consumption. Who does this argument refute?

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  2. While you’re working to clarify your argument, PhillyFan, revise to make your essay sound more like a finished product. It may be an early draft, but what you’ve written here sounds like notes to yourself about what you plan to do rather than an organized presentation of your argument.
    For example: “I can counter this argument by saying that coffee beans are not taxable.”

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  3. Finally, without links to your sources, I can’t find them to see whether you’re accurately portraying the evidence. But even more fundamental is the fact that you haven’t actually cited any evidence. You use details without identifying their source. THEREFORE, none of your sources actually belongs in your Works Cited, which is a place to provide bibliographic details for sources THAT YOU CITE in your essay. So go back and cite your sources.

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    1. I actually just changed my thesis. I did poorly word my thesis and it should make sense now. I did just provide the links to my sources in my works cited, but I did use them in my essay. In the first paragraph I referred to the NJ Sales Tax Guide. In the second paragraph I wrote about a memo that was written by the NJ Department of taxation and in the third paragraph I wrote about a chart that defines the NJ minimum cigarette prices.

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      1. I appreciate your response, PhillyFan, and I do see your improvements. The links in the Works Cited don’t actually lead anywhere, however. See if you can activate them, please.

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