NY Legislators pass bill (after midnight) to rob 4.5 billion and raise cigarette taxes to $1.50/pack

Times Union Newspaper ^

[1Old Pro]

Full Story: Health care deal reached

When reading the story, note that this was a secret deal which passed in the early morning hours without debate.

It will cost NY taxpayers 4.5 BILLION and raise cigarette taxes to $1.50 a pack, the highest in the nation.

People believe this is a deal to get the NY unions on board the Pataki campaign using tax dollars as the payment.

IS THIS GOOD GOVERNMENT?

[1Old Pro]

WANT TO MAKE BIG BUCKS, mass market internet cigarettes to New Yorkers.

[DoughtyOne]

Can you say "black market?" I knew you could...

[1Old Pro]

LINKS:

Ojibwas Discount Cigarette Trading Post

Wholesale Cigarettes, selling the finest brands of cigarettees on the Internet

BuyDiscountCigarettes.Com

LoneOak.net

CigarettesOnly.com

CigarettesByMail.com

Duty Free "Tax Free" Cigarettes Shipped Free to your Door

[Straight Vermonter]

Can you say "black market?" I knew you could...

Don't worry the Indians upstate are way ahead of you!

[RippleFire]

They ought to call this the Organized Crime Relief Act.

[DoughtyOne]

I read an article in the Reader's Digest about eight years ago that heralded the black market created in a town located on the US Canadian border. I can't recall all the particulars. There was a river on the border. And the contraband running on the river turned violent. Organized crime came in and the violence got so out of hand that the city had to rescind it's cigarette tax. When it did the violence ended immediately.

[DoughtyOne]

Exactly!

[Zon]

The government is organized crime. Got to run but if I get get a chance latter I'll get back to this.

[Straight Vermonter]

Yeah, the Okwasaznie (sp) reservation straddles the AMCAN border and the St Lawrence River. I can't say I remember the violence happening there though.

[The Mayor]

Well I have been thinking about moving to Virginia
after reading this I think I have made up my mind.

[DoughtyOne]

I didn't mean to imply that was the city or area. Later.

[Timesink]

Don't worry the Indians upstate are way ahead of you!

And in Connecticut.

Rush talked about this a while back. One state out west - I think it was Washington - massively jacked up their cigarette taxes to the highest in the nation. So smokers immediately adapted: Some went to Indian reservations; some drove over the border to Oregon where taxes are far far lower; some started ordering cartons over the web. The result? Cigarette tax revenues PLUMMETED in Washington, and the state government's going crazy trying to figure out a way to get "their" money back ... without success.

Once again, nothing but duplicity and lies. Smoking is evil evil evil, but the state wants its citizens to smoke like chimneys in order to pay more taxes.

[1Old Pro]

The government is organized crime.

More "government" like this and my 60% Conservative / 40% Libertarian leanings are going to make a big shift towards Libertarian.

[Terry Mross]

Ny will lose money because the black market from Jersey will fourish. They'll have to hire cigarette police.

I don't understand why the tobacco companies don't single out a few state like California and New York and say, "We agree with you about tobacco being bad and we will support your crusade by refusing to sell our products in your state." Then watch the politicians start screaming about the lost revenue.

[Benson_Carter]

bump from Rochester, FRiend... you should at the very least leave Grand Island!!!

[monkeywrench]

Great idea!

[DoughtyOne]

Interesting idea. Bet that'd last about five minutes. The state leaders would be begging for forgiveness. And after black markets popped up, they'd offer the cigarette manufacturers incentives to bring them back.