Not a tax

The Future of Capitalism replies:

It seems to me that unless any individual grower had the ability to opt out of it by choice (which, under the proposal, they did not), it's a tax. If the growers want to form a voluntary association in which members who choose to belong pay dues, some of which are used for a marketing campaign, then fine. But this proposal wasn't that. It was a tax. Example: I am a member of the author's guild, to which I voluntarily pay dues that partially go to promote the interests of authors. But if the government decided it was going to start collecting a tax on author's advances, or on book sales, to promote reading, I'd be annoyed, because my choice has been taken away. To me it's that point, the choice of the individual on whether or not to make the payment, that makes the difference on whether it is a tax or not.