HOWELL, Mich. — A nationwide Christmas tree checkoff program that was set to take effect has been delayed after unexpected criticism that labeled it a Christmas tree tax.

The checkoff, which the Christmas tree industry originally proposed in 2009, would have levied a 15 cent fee on each tree to be paid by growers and importers, as long as they produced or handled at least 500 trees a year. The order was published in the Federal Register in early November explaining the arrangement.

“We went to the growers, did workshops and input sessions and we realized that growers really wanted this,” said Marsha Gray, executive director of the Michigan Christmas Tree Assoc. (MCTA).

The National Christmas Tree Assoc. (NCTA) has it own position statement on the checkoff. It says a public comment period garnered 565 comments from interested parties and that more than 70 percent of those commenting were in favor of the program. It also says more than 90 percent of the state and multi-state associations that posted comments indicated they were in favor. “A group of Christmas tree farmers and retailers spent nearly three years studying the potential positives and negatives of a checkoff promotion and research program, including looking at other commodities that have similar programs,” the statement reads.

But David Addington, a chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney and now a blogger at the conservative Heritage Foundation, criticized the checkoff and called it a tax. It wasn’t long after that the Obama administration announced it was delaying implementation of the checkoff program, which was supposed to help the fresh cut tree business as it competes against the burgeoning artificial tree industry.

“To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52),” Addington wrote in his blog Nov. 8. “And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees …

“The economy is barely growing and 9 percent of the American people have no jobs. Is a new tax on Christmas trees the best President Obama can do? And, by the way, the American Christmas tree has a great image that doesn’t need any help from the government.”

Gray said Addington and his fellow conservatives are playing a “political game” with this foray.

“They wanted to take a jab at the law and Obama administration,” she said. “This is a 1996 law. Some version of commodities checkoffs have been around since the (Lyndon) Johnson administration.”

According to Gray, the checkoff would have gotten started without the vote of growers; however, she said the USDA required evidence of “overwhelming support” for the checkoff before it would agree to initiate the program.

She also said there would be a referendum after three years to see if growers still support the program. If the referendum were to fail, growers would then file a form to request a refund of their assessments paid up to that time.

To read more about the checkoff order online, visit www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-11-08/ pdf/2011-28798.pdf