The scary part is how Mass is following Maine’s lead with the use tax.
Now they ask you to *volunteer* how much you spent out of state. Since Maine has the credit card companies send records of how much you spent, the only smart option is to buy your smokes in NH using cash.
I distinctly remember there were two years (can't remember when though) when the MA tax form had a line for "Income from illegal sources"! I guess it didn't work out that well . . . I guess the state reps declined to fill it in! ;-)
ME is following the same suicidal motif as MA -- who would shop there who didn't have to? A friend of mine goes to NH once or twice a month, primarily for cigarettes for her husband. She said the savings, even apart from the cigarettes, more than covered the cost of the gas. I tagged along once to see for myself -- now she takes me every time, and I do virtually all my grocery shopping there. The in-between weeks, I spend maybe $10 or $15 in MA -- if Stop & Shop has any good specials.