California speaker proposes $3 cigarette tax

San Jose Mercury News ^ | Aug. 06, 2002 | AP

[Schatze]

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson proposed Tuesday to abandon a plan to raise California's car tax and instead increase cigarette taxes to $3 a pack -- the highest in the nation.

"This tax is a voluntary tax. If you don't smoke, you don't pay the tax," said Wesson, D-Culver City.

[Schatze]

How about a tax on politicians?

[Gritty]

gaping budget deficits and revenues that continue to sag.

I know this is a silly thing to suggest, but why doesn't California try cutting expenses? Are they trying to tell us there's nowhere in that larded, bloated budget where they can't save a few wasted billion, much less eliminate scores of useless programs and legions of deadwood employees?

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Glad I don't smoke. The way things are going, people are going to have tobacco gardens in their yards and make their own cigarettes.

[Bubba_Leroy]

So what happens if people stop smoking (or more likely, start buying tobacco on street corners from drug dealers who realize that they can make more money selling cigarettes)?

[Duke Nukum]

I don't understand why its just a $3 tax. Why not a $300,000,000 tax? Its voluntary.

A $300,000,000 tax would benefit the state in other ways too. Entrepreneurism would be expanded by the need for a black market. That will spark cigarette wars and all that implied violence will allow the state to hire more police and enact more gun laws that wont be enforced, so the unions will be happy.

Eventually, California would have to close up its border with the U.S. (it couldn't close its border with Mexico, that wouldn't be P.C.) to try to control the illegal traffic in cigarettes, and, they'll be able to justify everything they do by claiming huge, huge losses in revenue caused by the illegal tobacco trade.

Its got to be a politician's wet dream.

[Schatze]

That's what the Republicans keep telling the Demoncrats: Balance the budget by cutting spending -- no new taxes! That's why California doesn't have a budget yet.

The state controller, God love her, has cut off paychecks for all the legislators until a budget is passed. Works for me.

[ibbryn]

Just for the record, these same dolts are also proposing a five cents per cartridge tax on ammo. This will be used to pay for all the costs of gun violence. A RKBA group counter proposal is a 25 cents a cartridge tax credit, since guns save more lives than they take.

When Los Angeles started requiring fingerprints in order to buy ammo I just switched to ordering over the net. Buy in bulk from another state and you get better prices anyway.

If they are really depending on cig taxes to make up a hole in the budget, could we bankrupt the state if no one paid the tax? If everyone bought on line, from Indians or from friends who trucked in cartons from another state?

[Thisiswhoweare]

I agree with you. I also think we should not pay for illegals that make it here to have babies or (as I saw a report lately on O'Reily) kidney dyalisis. We all pay for seasoned citizens to have heart by-passes hip relacements as, they are on medicare (paid for by our taxes) Who paid for the separation surgery today at UCLA? You did.

It all is about responsibility. BTW, health insurance doesn't want to cover flip. They cover their non coverage with a "pre exsisting" phrase in their contract. So, you pay and they won't. I liked the Denzel Washington movie, John Q.

Yeah, let's all hope we never need the insurance we pay for.

[Schatze]

Well, anyone with sense understands that, as you do. But hey, we're talking politicians here.

I guess they'd just find something else to tax -- red meat, alcohol, soda, candy ... you know, the stuff that people like but shouldn't indulge in according to our nanny state.

[A. Morgan]

The sky is the limit. Why stop with tobacco? How about a $3.00 tax on hamburgers? or, fries? Why, before long we'll be worse off than those people in Russia!

Let's face it, the goal of the Democraps is to tax America back to the stone age, where they will have ALL our money and pass laws giving it all away appeasing this group or that one... they will decide, cuz we're just too stupid to know how to spend our own money !

[Schatze]

If they are really depending on cig taxes to make up a hole in the budget, could we bankrupt the state if no one paid the tax? If everyone bought on line, from Indians or from friends who trucked in cartons from another state?

I'd love to see that happen.

I heard about the ammo tax. These Demoncrats are bankrupt for ideas; all they ever come up with is taxes, taxes, taxes. Lots of people and companies are fed up and are starting to leave the state. Maybe the pols will eventually get the message if enough businesses and taxpaying citizens move out.

[SheLion]

BLOOMBER?? DID YOU SAY "BLOOMBERG??!!"

DOUBLE STANDARD!

[SheLion]

[templar]

Why stop at three dollars? Why not six, or sixty dollars?

Or a $200.00 transfer tax? Backed up by guys with ski masks and machine guns?

[A. Morgan]

The best thing we can do is slam down this PC mentality. PC put tobacco is a class right above street drugs. PC is starting to teart this country apart!

[templar]

Yes, the income tax is voluntary too. Don't work, don't pay.

A lot of people seem to take that advice. So maybe taxation to controll behavior does work.

[SheLion]

Tax hikes send smokers to Net

[SheLion]

Online cigarette sales light up

[zoyd]

Where's the nearest Indian reservation? From Orange County?

Looks like I'll be making some 'smoke trips' and denying CA the taxes it already gets from me. They'll go from getting lots of my cig-tax dollars, to getting NONE.

[Leisler]

I was sitting in a low down, dark cheep saloon doing what I do best, drinking. A cig salesmen comes in with the order for the bar. The box was the size that a computer monitor comes in. It was over a $1,000. I told him he better get a guard as his mini van must of had $20k worth in it.