A pain in the butts

Chicago Sun Times ^ | February 10, 2006 | ABDON M. PALLASCH

[george76]

Enjoy those $6.59 cigarette packs for the next 19 days.

Starting March 1, they'll cost $7.59.

By a 10-7 vote, Cook County Board members voted Thursday to double the county tax on a pack of cigarettes from $1 to $2.

A pack of Marlboro Lights that cost $6.59 at a downtown Walgreens Thursday will be $7.59 next month.

The same pack costs $4.45 at a White Hen in the DuPage County city of Elmhurst, and it costs $3.76 at a Hammond, Ind...

Commissioners voting against the tax hike said shoppers will increasingly hop borders, hurting Cook County businesses.

With the hike, Chicago will have the highest cigarette taxes in the nation.

[Miss Behave]

You better cut back on your puffin', muffin. But at least you go for the good butt and not the cheap one.

[Miss Behave]

When smokers go elsewhere to purchase cheaper cigarettes, Chicago will whine about the evil neighboring states just like Daley whines about guns coming in from suburban communities into Chicago.

These people wouldn't know economics if it stripped naked and got into bed alongside them.

And not even if the economics was slathered in raspberry-flavered lotion and had kept on the red patent stilettos.

[george76]

Why do the voters keep re-electing these Dummies?

Are there that many dead people voting?

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

That's a good question. I guess the answer is that the Democrats have such a lock on the political system here that there are few alternatives. There are some Republicans on the board from the suburbs, and there is a kind of reform movement among some of the Democrats -- specifically targeting the long-time county board president. I don't know if it's going to be successful. The primary is coming up and we're starting to see some yard signs. My wife saw one with for the county board president and asked who it was. I told her it was for the crooked old s*n-*f-*-b*tch who has been robbing us and running the county into the ground all these years.

A lot of people around here just haven't realized that electing time and time and time again the same old hacks is really bad for them.

[Graybeard58]

A pack of Marlboro Lights that cost $6.59 at a downtown Walgreens Thursday will be $7.59 next month.

The same pack costs $4.45 at a White Hen in the DuPage County city of Elmhurst, and it costs $3.76 at a Hammond, Ind...

And $2.40 in Benton, Mo.

If I had a buyer I could trust in Chicago, I would consider it.

[george76]

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,

If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.

If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat,

If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

http://home.att.net/%7Echuckayoub/Taxman_Lyrics.html

[SheLion]

[SheLion]

Read what Illinois smokers already contribute to the state economy!  And these idiots just keep digging into the smokers pockets even deeper.  How about taxing something else, dweebs?

Illinois Information

Illinois Smokers:
A public yahoo group for anyone who wants to talk about the Illinois ban situation.

Illinois Smokers Alliance:
A smokers ban discussion group from IL.  A public group but moderated against posts made by anti-smokers.

Illinois State Page:
Facts, Press Releases, Visiting, Government, and more.

Tobacco Taxes

Illinois's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.980
Illinois's excise tax collection for the
fiscal year ending June 2002: $471,551,000

Sales tax on tobacco products: 6.25%
Local tax on tobacco products: $60,605,152

Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39
Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000

Comparing Excise Taxes on Cigarettes, Beer and Wine

click for larger view Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Illinois to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 94.2

click for larger view Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Illinois to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 67.8

[SheLion]

Well, here is one alternative:

Can't stand the high taxes?

Afraid to order off of the Internet?

Then start rolling your own!!! I find everything but the machine downtown at the local Smoke Shop.  Also, Rite Aid and grocery stores also sell the bags of tobacco and the filtered tubes.

I roll out a beautiful carton for a little under $8 dollars.  Premiums in my state are now up to $45-$50 a carton.  Can you imagine the money I have saved over the past 4 years since I now roll my own?  It's mind boggling.

under $50.00

Check StuffYourOwn for prices on tobacco

$1.99 for 200 filtered tubes

Make your own cigarettes for as low as $6.99 per Carton! Smoke Quality FILTERED cigarettes that you make yourself using cigarette tubes (like a cigarette without the Cigarette tobacco), our cigarette making machines, and our "roll your own" cigarette tobacco.


-Stop Paying High Cigarette Taxes
-So Much Easier than "Roll Your Own" cigarettes!

and

Smokers United

Roll Your Own Tobacco Store

Roll Your Own Magazine

[drlevy88]

Crook County beat out Bloomie and nobody noticed.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Mears]

Sales tax free NH advertises in Massachusetts also.