Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis [View all]

[Nuclear Unicorn]

Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

Massachusetts is preparing to levy a 5-cent fee per trip on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft and spend the money on the traditional taxi industry, a subsidy that appears to be the first of its kind in the United States.

Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed the nickel fee into law this month as part of a sweeping package of regulations for the industry.

Ride services are not enthusiastic about the fee.

"I don't think we should be in the business of subsidizing potential competitors," said Kirill Evdakov, the chief executive of Fasten, a ride service that launched in Boston last year and also operates in Austin, Texas.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-massachusetts-uber-idUSKCN10U1ST

This is about the worst thing since the Kelo v New London decision.

Even if one does not approve of ride hailing apps that the government would take legally earned income from one legitimate private commercial enterprise and give it to another, competing private for-profit enterprise ought to have everyone up in arms. This is as much a threat to everyone as the Kelo decision.