Posted on 06/19/2010 4:26:36 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Cigarette taxes in New York would jump by $1.60 a pack under a tentative deal reached between Gov. David A. Paterson and legislative leaders, which would give New York the nation’s highest state cigarette taxes.
The proposal, which officials said Mr. Paterson would include in an emergency budget bill due for a vote on Monday, would also raise wholesale taxes on other tobacco products like chewing tobacco, bringing the tax on those products closer in line with those of cigarettes.
In New York City, which levies steep taxes of its own on tobacco products, a pack of cigarettes would come with a tax of $5.85, making it the nation’s first city to break $5, antismoking advocates said. That would bring the overall cost of a pack of premium cigarettes above $10 in many stores in the city.
The legislation will also include a plan to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold off the reservation by Indian tribes in New York, an issue that has provoked confrontations between State Police officers and protesting tribe members in years past.
The proposal would generate $440 million in revenue this year, helping close a state budget gap estimated at over $9 billion. But it is unclear whether there are enough votes to approve the plan in the State Senate, where Republicans have threatened to vote against any emergency budget bill that includes tax increases and some Democrats oppose efforts to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by the tribes.
Should the measure fail, the government would face an unprecedented shutdown. Should it pass, lawmakers must still meet to find ways to close the entire budget gap.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And casinos....ask for a cigarette if you were playing blackjack and they' bring you a new pack.
In the 60's, our USMC C-rations had a little four pack in the kit.
Sometimes logic can be be extended too far.
Sometimes logic can be be extended too far.
Especially when it blows your argument right out of the water.
:-)
Yeah but the weeds grow faster than the grass. And our riding mower is down at the moment. We need new hubs. 2 weeks without mowing and I'll need a machete to get to the barn! ;-)
Exactly. :)
And our riding mower is down at the moment.
Well I hope you get it fixed soon. Just for some perspective my yard is less than 1/4 acre... way too small for a riding mower.
Right about now a 1/4 acre sounds good. ;-)
Well, they cannot blame any increase in min-market or bodega
robberies on the Amish — they do not smoke!!
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