Posted on 04/29/2002 3:24:55 AM PDT by kattracks
(CNSNews.com) - Cigarette smokers in America, on average, will soon be paying nearly 50 cents a pack just to satisfy state excise taxes on the product, according to an examination of figures provided by the American Lung Association.
Smokers in some states will pay much more than that, on top of the 39 cents a pack all smokers must pay in federal excise taxes. Some cities and counties across the country also collect tobacco taxes.
"It's an easy way out to raise taxes on cigarette smokers because they are such a small segment of the population," Daniel Clifton, spokesman for Americans for Tax Reform, said. "Some states are going to tax cigarettes right out of business and that is important in Virginia and North Carolina. People should have a choice. Smokers have become discriminated against by big government spending politicians."
New York State earlier this month began charging $1.50 in taxes for each pack of cigarettes sold. On the same date, April 3, Connecticut began charging $1.11. On July 1, Maryland will begin charging smokers $1 in taxes for every pack. Washington State, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Rhode Island also currently have, or soon will have state tobacco taxes of $1 or more per pack. All of these figures have been compiled by the American Lung Association.
Because some states, especially those where cigarettes are manufactured, impose minimal tobacco taxes, the national average is 48 cents per pack, according to the American Lung Association.
Phillip Morris U.S.A., the nation's largest manufacturer of cigarettes, estimates the average cost of a pack of cigarettes nationally is $3.25. Tom Ryan, spokesman for Phillip Morris U.S.A., said the figure comes from an independent tobacco researcher, IRI Capstone.
So with an average cost of a pack of cigarettes at $3.25 after taxes, the state and federal government, on average, are collecting 87 cents or 27 percent of the total cost.
Clifton said the excise taxes were originally meant to repay the states for the medical costs they incurred in caring for poor people with smoking-related diseases. However, he said, state governments do not put the money back into health programs. Instead, the money is used to balance state budgets and to fund other kinds of programs.
"It's appalling," Clifton said. "They are raising taxes to completely inefficient levels. This is what I would call tyranny of the majority."
Ryan said the high taxes are "driving consumers ... to look for those products where the excise taxes aren't paid and age isn't necessarily verified."
Ryan said it's become a common practice for smokers to cross state borders where lower excise taxes exist. For example, while the Maryland tobacco excise tax will soon rise to $1 per pack, Virginia's tax is two-and-a-half cents a pack.
Retailers along the border are losing a lot of money, Ryan said.
"What I think has been left out has been a discussion of the unintended consequences that result from increasing these taxes in such unfair and extraordinary ways," Ryan said.
"It is not a good tax. What the states are doing right now is taking this excise tax money to balance the state budget, but this is not a reliable source of income for the state," Ryan added. "If you're trying to balance the budget, that kind of works against the public health argument of reducing consumption."
Cassandra Welch, spokesperson for the American Lung Association, said regardless of how the tobacco excise taxes are spent, they remain necessary.
"A raise in the cigarette excise tax saves lives. People quit and we're really about protecting people's health and saving people's lives. We think tobacco excise tax makes good sense and it is one of the best things that federal and state [governments] can do to protect the health of their citizens," Welch said.
Welch said the American Lung Association would like to see money generated from the excise tax spent on tobacco prevention.
"We strongly advocate, in every state, that there should be funding for comprehensive tobacco prevention programs because they have been shown to work."
Welch said the goal of the taxes should be to protect the health of the entire population.
"We support raising the cigarette excise tax both at the federal and state level," she said. "We think these are important tools for the government."
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For the life of me I just don't know why Phillip Morris and other tabacco companys screw over the states Medicare and other cigerette tax driven programs by just refusing to supply 1 of the states with any tabacco. Start with an extremely cash strapped and anti-tabacco state like CA and embargo it completely. I guarentee that Democraps will be begging for smokes after they get some psycotic response from smokers "Jonesing" out on the CA Capitol steps! Thats when RJR and others strike back with a demand to reduce tax and smoking regulations before they restart shipment.
This gouging of 20% of the American public is a millstone on any economic recovery. There is no discretionary income left for smokers to spend. When people finally figure out that this punitive tax is costing them jobs, they will realize that smokers aren't the only ones being ripped off.
I can't understand why there isn't a "gigantic" black market in this area.
Oh good. The mafia has been cash strapped lately. This is just what they needed to get themselves back on their feet.
lowbridge, you beat me to the 'government as mafia' angle, but that was my response to evad's statement.
The biggest goon (in this case govt. on all levels) controls the 'action'.
I am curious to find out if they are running the same type of spots in other locals around the country that have not increased their cigarette taxes yet.
"They are raising taxes to completely inefficient levels. This is what I would call tyranny of the majority."
They sure are and it sure is.
"We support raising the cigarette excise tax both at the federal and state level," she said. "We think these are important tools for the government."
Ah, social engeneering at it's very best. Use the government as your heavy.
It seems the settlement forbade the tobacco companies to do that, although that would be very good healthwise, according to fanatics, it would also stop the flow of money, and guess what is more important.
I wonder what the laws are about non-profit organizations with different tax exempt statuses have to say about these organizations lobbying for tax increases???
anyone know????
here's some real $$$$$$:
From 1999 to 2001, federal and state governments collected more than $88 billion - or about $80 million a day - from smokers through excise and other taxes and litigation settlement payments to the states.
Let's all stick those numbers in our hats and smoke them!
When California stuck me with these taxes, I vowed to take my revenge swiftly. Because the state got greedy, I cut them out of the deal entirely, buying my tobacco and supplies out of state on the internet. The result is that I smoke much higher quality tobacco, paying 65 cents to a dollar ten per pack. Only takes 10 minutes to crank it out. The best part is that California doesn't get one penny of tobacco money from me.
But my blood was still up, so I went on a never-ending rampage. I soon extended this practice to every purchase I possibly could -- gadgets, shoes, clothes, tools, books, appliances, you name it -- all red zone internet purchases with no tax going to California. I've now cost the state thousands of dollars in lost revenue and hope to cost them many thousands more as the years go by.
Sic Semper Tyrannis, Fred. :-)
In 46 of the 50 states they can not even go this route until at least 2023 because of the Master Settlement Agreement.
The annual payments of these monies are based solely upon the number of cigarettes sold in each of the 46 states. what legislature is going to outlaw a product mandated to pay them above and beyond the already outrageous excise taxes placed upon them?
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