BIG STINK OVER 'FART TAX'

[Kathy in Cambridge]

Farmers in New Zealand have led a rag-tag procession of cows, dogs and tractors to protest against plans to tax their cattle's gas emissions.

Around 1,000 farmers gathered in front of parliament in the capital Wellington chanting "We won't pay" what has been dubbed the "Flatulence Tax".


http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-12761734,00.html

Some of the better headlines:
"Farmers let it rip over Flatulence Tax" (CNN)
"New Zealand farmers say 'flatulence' tax stinks" (USATODAY)

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. How the hell can you tax a fart?

That is funny, thanks for the laugh, RationalRose.

[Kat45]

2. That's funny, I just saw this on the news a few minutes ago

I'll have to ask my friend in New Zealand about it. His neighbor's sheep and cows graze in his yard, thus taking care of his lawn for him.

[Bozita]

3. flat tax -- Is this what Forbes advocates for America?

or is it just a lot of hot air?

[RobertSeattle]

4. Shouldn't it be a "Belch Tax"?

I thought cows expell most of their CO2 via their mouths - not their Bush-hole.

[Cush]

5. lol, nice sign

[Hand]

6. Actually, it's no joke...

It's not farts, either... it's belches, as Robert Seattle observes. Ruminants (cud-chewers) like cattle belch methane gas, which is a VERY powerful greenhouse gas and likely plays as major a role in global warming as CO2, even though it's present in smaller proportions in the atmosphere.

Cattle burp a LOT every day, and there are a hell of a lot of them in New Zealand and elsewhere (e.g., US and Canada). That equals a major contribution to global warming.

I'm guessing also that keeping cattle in feedlots and stuffing them with corn fodder, which their digestive system is not equipped to handle leads to increased methane emissions--not to mention sick cattle that are kept alive with mass dosages of antibiotics that wind up in the soil and water.

You could say that the cattle flatulence tax is analogous to a carbon tax on gas guzzlers: You produce it, you pay for it.

So there you have it--far more than you ever wanted to know about flatulent cattle!
:o

On edit: Credit RobertSeattle for catching the distinction. By the way, up here in Canada, Ralph Klein, the alcoholic right-wing oil-worshipping asshole premier of Alberta, thinks it's farts, too. Fucking Dubya wannabe.