Yes! ROLL YOUR OWN! heh!
Posted on 08/06/2002 3:31:28 AM PDT by kattracks
NEW YORK, Aug 06, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Cigarette sales in New York plummeted almost 50 percent in July after the city raised the tax on each pack from 8 cents to $1.50, according to new figures from the city's department of finance.
New Yorkers purchased 15.6 million cigarette packs last month, down from 29.2 million packs in July 2001. But because the tax was so much higher, millions more tax dollars poured into city coffers - $12.3 million, compared to $2.3 million during the same period last year.
The new tax, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg supported to help close a record budget gap, drove the price of some name brands to more than $7 per pack.
There are no studies yet to determine whether New Yorkers are quitting smoking or simply taking other avenues to fix their nicotine cravings, such as online mail order buys or trips out of town.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Those "rich" commuters are bringing in a few packs for their pals who live in New York.
The Thruway lie is only my second-favorite Big Lie from Albany though - my number-one favorite is "Lotto money funds education!" Dunno if there's a NJ equivalent to that one, but sure, NY Lotto money funds education...by going into the state's general fund, where it pays for education. And every other damn thing the state spends money on ;)
I do think the amounts collected by the city in tobacco tax will go down though as the black market gets more organized, but probably never get lower than what they were collecting before this tax increase.
The result of the regulation was that he always had a truck full of beer. Whenever he wanted a beer, all he had to do was go out to the coolers and get one. He wound up going out to that cooler an awful lot. I always thought that he would not have wound up drinking quite so much if it had not been for the "Dry" county.
I suspect the same thing is going to happen in NYC. Smokers are going to start making buying trips and coming back with case lots. As a result, every smoker is going to have a huge supply of cigarettes on hand, and smoking will increase.
Yes! ROLL YOUR OWN! heh!
In Maine, Gov. King can't balance his BUDGET without taxing the smokers. Smokers in Maine have been carrying the state budget on their backs to keep the pet programs for the DemocRATS!
ok...a $3.00 round trip. And, while cigarette smokers are there, they can shop in a New Jersey mall. So, tourists foolish enough to arrive in NYC without enough cigarettes for their stay will pay the tax...that'll give them a friendly "I love New York" feeling.
Another thing I envision is bus trips to casinos (especially if the Bridgeport, CT "indians" get tribal recognition) where people will save money on cigarettes, and spend it at the slots.
And this will all be fine, until the government still doesn't have enough money and they start aggresively taxing Big Macs and fries!
Linda Liberal. You never say anything positive about a Republican politician. Perhaps since Bloomberg is a RINO or that his antismoking position is so liberal, you see fit to praise him.
He's made serious efforts to avoid raising taxes any more than he had too.
Did you read the article? From 8 cents to $1.50 per pack.
"It's enough to take a smoker's breath away. After a July 1 tax hike, a single pack of cigarettes costs $8 in New York City, more than twice the national average of $3.75."
"After just one week with the new tax hikes, online retailers reported rising interest. "We're seeing a big increase," says Dan Colpetzer, manager of Seneca Smokes, an online tobacco retailer based in Lewiston, N.Y. "We're getting calls from all over the country, but especially New York City."
Huh? You are responding to comments about Bloomberg, who is a republican last I checked. You want to call him a Rino, but he's one of the few republicans I can name who actually cut spending. Your hero Bush has presided over a huge run up of spending.
I wrote: He's made serious efforts to avoid raising taxes any more than he had to.
You wrote in response: Did you read the article? From 8 cents to $1.50 per pack.
Did you read the article and what I wrote? This tobacco tax has raised 12 something million. Bloomberg inherited from Giuliani a budget deficit of several Billion. That's Billion with a B. He responded with a mix of budget cuts and a few tax increases. This tobacco tax increase ie a total of maybe 100 million a year, if it works. (My guess is, it will raise less as the black market becomes more efficient.) it addresses maybe 5% of his budget shortfall. He addressed the budget shortfall primarily by cutting spending. This was major efforts to avoid raising taxes.
He became a Republican in 2000. He had been a liberal Democrat before then. Maybe the next time you check he will be a Democrat again.
By the way Republican is spelled with a capitol 'R'.
The same people behind the campaign against tobacco are gearing up to do it again to sugar, fat and the foods that contain them.
Lawyers find new target: The Big Mac
Talk about a DOUBLE STANDARD!
DELAWARE? DID YOU SAY "DELAWARE???!!!"
I guess you're trying to tell me that there are no examples of Republicans cutting spending. If we want to find an example of a politician, we have to look for a Democrat, or at least a recent Democrat. Is that the point you're trying to make?
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