California Plans to Tax Space Travel

The pathologically excessive greed of progressives ensures that if free market space travel really takes off, it won’t launch from the Land Ruled by Fruits and Nuts:

The earthly convention of paying taxes may soon extend into outer space, if California regulators have anything to say about it.

The state’s Franchise Tax Board is seeking public comment on its proposal for computing taxes on commercial space transportation companies. …

It would apply to companies that use California as a launchpad, not California companies launching from other states, like Texas or Florida. …

SpaceX, which is headquartered in Hawthorne (Los Angeles County), declined to comment.

John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University, states the obvious:

“States that don’t levy taxes would have that competitive advantage over states that do,” Logsdon said. “If California puts in a tax and Florida or Texas doesn’t have a similar tax, I’m not sure that helps California in a competitive way.”

Sure enough,

At least one company has already been lured away from California… Moon Express, a company working to mine the moon for natural resources, moved from Mountain View to Florida.

No worries. When the commercial spaceflight industry abandons California because it is not profitable to do business there, Governor Moonbeam can just jack up taxes even higher on those who remain behind. Soon California tax rates will shoot past the SpaceX rockets as they climb through the stratosphere.

On a tip from Sufferfortribe.