Posted on 04/24/2004 7:27:55 AM PDT by WKB
Mississippi House members delayed until early next week action on a proposed 9-cent per pack tax increase on a pack of cigarettes to pay for the state's nine mental health crisis centers.
Rep. Jim Evans, D-Jackson, a smoker, said Friday he will ask House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, to raise the tax even more to fund health care programs.
"If it's keeping them (crisis centers) closed, or a tax, I'd vote for it,'' said Rep. Bubba Pierce, D-Leakesville, a nonsmoker. "It's unconscionable to have these mental patients in jail cells.''
But many of the 46 Republicans in the 122-member chamber are sticking to their guns and oppose the cigarette tax plan hike that McCoy and other House leaders announced Thursday night.
"A tobacco tax looks a lot like a tax to me,'' said Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune.
Mississippi's 18 cents per pack tax hasn't been raised since 1985. It is among the lowest nationwide. A pack costs $3.
McCoy said his plan would raise $21.9 million for the Department of Mental Health's 16-bed crisis centers in such communities as Corinth, Laurel, Cleveland, Brookhaven, Grenada, Newton and Batesville.
The cigarette tax also would pay for the 24-bed Specialized Treatment Facility in Gulfport that houses emotionally disturbed young people, ages 13 to 20.
On Monday, the House Rules Committee is expected to take up a resolution to allow the chamber to suspend its rules to take up the new legislation.
"I feel smokers are being singled out,'' said Madison resident Sherry Milner, a smoker. "They're grasping at straws. There's a better way to solve it.''
Senate President Pro Tempore Travis Little, R-Corinth, seeks $12.8 million in general funds to pay for facilities at 50 percent capacity. "Both ends (of the Capitol) are committed to getting the crisis centers open.''
But Little doubts the House cigarette tax hike plan would pass in the Senate.
If "unconscionable" is truly applicable here, why are you just taxing smokers and not everybody?
I still don't understand why smokers don't sue for "equal protection" violation. How much more blatant does it need to be?
SMOKERS’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE ECONOMY - 2001
Mississippi smokers comprise only 23.5% of the adult population in the state. Here is what they already pay because they choose to buy a legal product:
Smokers Pay Excise Taxes $ 48,346,560
Smokers Pay Sales Taxes $ 56,404,320
Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments $ 203,800,000
$ 308,550,880
Smokers' Economic/Tax Profile
Income
Mississippi smokers' median income 2000 $ 25,274
Median Income Smoker Mississippi State Tax Liability
Annual state income tax liability for a couple $ 297
Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children $ 177
Smoker Excise Tax/Sales Tax/Tobacco Settlement Payments Liability
Total average paid per Mississippi smoker in excise and sales taxes $ 215
Cost per Mississippi smoker for settlement payments to Mississippi $ 417
Total annual payment to Mississippi per smoker $ 632
Mississippi Smoker Facts
Mississippi smoker payments in 2001 were nearly eight times as large as state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages of $39.3 million.
Mississippi smoker payments were larger than net corporate income taxes of $210.8 million, and eleven and one-half times larger than Mississippi death and gift tax revenues of $27.6 million in 2001.
Mississippi smoker payments could supply all the funds the state spent in 2001 on:
The Judiciary and Justice ($69 million)
PLUS
The Education Department's vocational and technical school programs ($80.4 million)
PLUS
Support for Mississippi State Hospital ($112.2 million)
OR
Agriculture, Commerce, and Economic Development combined ($218.2 million)
PLUS
Environmental Quality ($80.8 million)
OR
The Corrections Department ($258.2 million).
In 1997, smokers supported 14,600 Mississippi jobs and paid $6,103,458 in personal income and corporate taxes.
CIGARETTES DON'T PAY TAXES - MISSISSIPPI SMOKERS DO!!
Mississippi Data Sources
Total packs sold = 286,592,000 (Orzechowski & Walker from Mississippi Department of Revenue).
Excise taxes paid= Orzechowski & Walker from Mississippi Department of Revenue packs sold.
Sales taxes paid = packs sold multiplied by sales tax rate (7% or $.21 per pack).
Settlement payment amount from Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
Number of smokers (488,280)= Census Bureau 2000 Mississippi 18+ population (2,077,787) multiplied by CDC's 2000 percent of Mississippi adults who are smokers (23.5%).
Total paid per smoker excise & sales taxes = total excise and sales taxes paid ($104,750,880) divided by number of smokers (488,280).
Total paid per smoker for settlement payments = settlement payments amount divided by number of smokers.
Smokers' median income per CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2000, public use data.
State annual income tax liability from PayBreeze software of General Programming, Inc., San Jose, California, which utilizes the Exact Calculation Method.
Mississippi smoker facts from U.S. Census Bureau and Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, State of Mississippi Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Report of Budgetary Basis Expenditures, online at http://www.ms.gov/frameset.jsp?URL=http%3A%2Fwww.dfa.state.ms.us.
Jobs created and personal/corporate income tax paid from American Economics Group, Inc., The U.S. Tobacco Industry in 1997: Its Economic Impact in the States.
CIGARETTES DON’T PAY TAXES – SMOKERS DO!!
Your sure welcome. And a LOT of people aren't aware of what smokers in EACH state contribute. Yet, the lawmakers talk out of both sides of their mouths saying they want a "smoke free everything???!!!"
They are rediculous.
When Big Tobacco fell to their knees in front of the Attorney General's, and the Tobacco Settlement Money was born.............the general public believes that Big Tobacco and/or the government is paying this money to the states. This couldn't be further from the truth.
Big T isn't paying for the Tobacco Settlement Money and the Government is not paying this Tobacco Settlement Money. It's the "Smokers Who Pay Taxes on Cigarettes," 100%!
Then from this money the state health departments started the Partnerships for a Tobacco Free everything in the states. And once again, the smokers paying taxes on cigarettes are paying their pay checks. Yes, we are paying the highly paid anti-smoking professionals for all the bans, the control and the restrictions.
Instead of the money going for health care to uninsured smokers who might get sick from smoking or even to help pay for senior drug care, or to help the children, etc, these coalitions have started their own wars on the smokers having us banned from just about everywhere.
Think about this: if they DID succeed in convincing people to quit smoking.....they would be out of a job! So, instead of just outright banning cigarettes and tobacco products, they put these tacky ads on TV and go from business to business banning smoking. Making it look like the money is well spent.
Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine is feeding the Tobacco Settlement Money into "5" race teams and the race tracks across the state! It's called "Kick Butts Racing." They are feeding thousands of dollars into race cars and sponsoring the tracks. This alone makes me sick.
Mass spent a year or so ago, $`170,000 of the Tobacco Settlement Money to build a huge lavish golf course. Can you understand why smokers are becoming outraged? And yet, the glutton lawmakers want MORE CIGARETTE TAXES?
They think they have an easy mark. But when people can't afford to buy cigarettes in the state any longer, they head for the Internet, or to Reservations and/or by rolling their own cigarettes. When all the smokers get smart and start doing this, where oh where will the lawmakers get that tax dollar to make up for the loss from cigarettes? Think about it..........who next will be hit?
Spread the word to the people in your state that smoke to start rolling their own. I have been rolling my own for over three years. Instead of paying $45-$50 dollars a carton, I roll a beautiful carton for under $8 dollars and am not paying into the state coffers. The money saved has been mind boggling.
I bought the Supermatic rolling machine from the Internet, but the local Smoke Shop plus the grocery stores in town all sell bags of tobacco and the filtered cigarette tubes. Spread the word.
and
Bleed Bleed that Votorette.
Bleed,Bleed them till they bleed themselves to death.
But Tell St. Pwter at the Golden Gate
We have to make him wait.
We have to bleed another Voterette..
I can't STAND Phillip Morris! Talk about talking out of both sides of their mouths! They have this ad on TV about quitting smoking, yet they continue to sell cigarettes. What's up with this?
Two-faced idiots!
haha ! I thought (was hoping) you might like that one. ;^)Serendipity at work again. Yesterday, Beachn4fun posted about her newborn Grandson, Jacob. So I Googled for 'Baby Cigar' looking for a Cigar that a father or grandfather might pass out. That pic came up and I couldn't resist posting it to her. I did a little photowork on it and uploaded it this morning. Didn't want to lose that one.
The sad part is I actually had to read the article first because I couldn't automatically assume it was the Democrats and not the Republicans that wanted to raise taxes on cigarettes.
It's a cool picture. You do great work with images!!!!
Perhaps Meathead took it, there are soooo many hands in our pockets, it's hard to tell one from the other.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
