It exacts a big payment without having to fend off lobbyists or wage a political fight. And, in most cases, the taxpayer doesn't even have a say.

With three recent reports predicting states will feel the pinch of the economic downturn in the US and nearly half of them projecting a budget shortfall within the next two years, governments are turning to increasingly innovative - and sometimes odd - ways of raising revenues.

Need a few million dollars to fill a budget deficit? Lease one of the state's toll highways, like Indiana and Virginia did; or lease toll bridges as the did in Alabama; or cash in on future lottery profits as a half-dozen states are considering.

You could slap a tax on pornography as six states already have, or tax strip joints like they do in Texas, where they call it a 'pole tax.' Some states take a slice out of pumpkin sales at Halloween. And most states tax professional athletes when they visit, using a 'jock tax' on professional athletic events.

Amused? That will cost you, too. Many states collect an amusement tax for live performances.

'They range from the outright crazy to the absolutely insane,' said Mr Nate Bailey, of the nonpartisan Tax Foundation based in Washington.

'People at the local level already feel overtaxed and politicians, in a somewhat spineless way, look for a hidden way to increase revenue without raising taxes.'

Politicians love to use such methods because they do not have to raise taxes on income. But critics say that is also the danger, if long-term problems never get fixed and essentials such as health care and education go wanting.

In New York, Gov Eliot Spitzer last week proposed redefining little cigars as cigarettes and 'hard' lemonade and other flavoured alcohol drinks as liquor instead of beer, all of which would increase tax revenue.

More than a half-dozen states have a tax on narcotics and other controlled substances. Theoretically, a drug dealer in North Carolina can go to the state revenue office and get a tax stamp for US$50 (S$71) per gram for cocaine over 7 grams (the first 6 grams are tax-free). A moonshiner could get a stamp for US$1.28 per gallon (3.8 litres) of mash.

Then the dealer or the moonshiner can walk away - the law prohibits snitching on anyone who buys the stamps - with proof he paid his debt to the tax department.

The idea is that a peddler, even one who sells illegal substances, should pay taxes. But in reality the revenue is only collected after arrests, when dealers are slapped with a tax bill.

'The only folks we have buying those stamps are stamp collectors,' said Ms Kim Brooks, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Time to get creative
Still, with most states forecasting multiyear deficits as unemployment worsens and tax revenue slows with the economy, it's time to get creative.

In New York, where the budget deficit is estimated at US$4.4 billion for the fiscal year beginning April 1, followed by a deficits reaching US$6.8 billion in 2011-12, Gov Spitzer has latched on to the idea of taxing illegal substances and in his budget proposal promised US$17 million in revenue from it.

He also wants to require Internet giants such as Amazon.com to collect tax on an estimated US$47 million in sales to New Yorkers, who are currently on an honour system to report on their tax returns how much they spend online.

Another idea is for New York to lease its lottery, presumably to a Wall Street investor, in return for an upfront payment of US$4 billion, US$200 million a year in interest and a continuation of the US$2.1 billion the lottery now generates for education.

'It's the idea that you can get away with raising taxes as long as you don't say the word 'tax,'' said New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat who represents affluent suburbs north of New York City.

'And the consequences are disastrous for the average middle class or poor people, and a boon to big business and the wealthy.'

Reforms to highway system
In New Jersey, officials are weighing reforms to the highway system that could allow a nonprofit corporation to operate toll roads. The agency could also raise money by putting solar panels on sound barriers, erecting windmills along the roadways and selling naming rights for rest stops.

That could mean New Jersey Turnpike rest stops now named for famous residents such as Thomas Edison, Walt Whitman and Red Cross founder Clara Barton could be renamed for corporations.

'There's an incredible desire to avoid general sales and income taxes,' said Mr Scott Pattison of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

'And when you think about it, states own a lot of assets. So if you are turning them over to private companies to lease and manage for a while, and get upfront money, you have a lot of options.' -- AP