RHODE ISLAND SMOKERS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE ECONOMY 2001

2 September 2002

[SheLion]

RHODE ISLAND SMOKERS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE ECONOMY 2001  

Rhode Island smokers comprise only 23.5% of the adult population in the state. Here is what they already pay because they choose to buy a legal product:

• Smokers Pay Excise Taxes $ 67,580,560
• Smokers Pay Sales Taxes $ 21,455,280
• Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments $ 44,500,000

                                                                                              $133,535,840

Smokers’ Economic/Tax Profile

• Income
  • Rhode Island smokers’ median income 2000 $28,154
• Median Income Smoker Rhode Island State Tax Liability
  • Annual state income tax liability for a couple $589
  • Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children $364

• Smoker Excise Tax/Sales Tax/Tobacco Settlement Payments Liability
  • Total average paid per Rhode Island smoker in excise and sales taxes $473
  • Price per Rhode Island smoker for settlement payments to Rhode Island $236

Total annual payment to Rhode Island per smoker $709

Rhode Island Smoker Facts

• Rhode Island smoker payments in 2001 were more than fourteen times as large as state excise taxes of $9.2 million on alcoholic beverages.
• Rhode Island smoker payments in 2001 were more than 58% larger than total corporate net income tax revenues paid by Rhode Island corporations ($84.3 million).
• In 2001, Rhode Island smoker payments were greater than Rhode Island motor fuels taxes of $118.9 million.
• Rhode Island smoker payments could have paid for FY2001 spending for:

• The Department of Health ($84 million)
• Disease Prevention and Control ($5 million)
• The State Police ($37.7 million)
• Environmental Management ($52.7 million)
• Veterans ($12.4 million)

• In 1997, smokers supported 1,484 jobs that paid an additional $1,824,905 in state and local personal income and corporate taxes.

CIGARETTES DON’T PAY TAXES – RHODE ISLAND SMOKERS DO!!

Rhode Island Data Sources

Total Packs sold = 799,464,000 (Orzechowski & Walker Tax Burden On Tobacco 2001 from Rhode Island Department of Revenue)

Excise Taxes Paid = Orzechowski & Walker Tax Burden On Tobacco 2001 from Rhode Island Department of Revenue packs sold

Sales Taxes Paid= packs sold multiplied by sales tax rate (7% or $.27 per pack)

Settlement payment amount (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids)

Number of smokers (188,215)= Census Bureau 2000 Rhode Island 18+ population (1,046,319) multiplied by CDC’s 2000 percent of adults who are smokers (23.5)

Total paid per smoker excise & sales taxes = total excise and sales taxes paid (89,035,840) divided by number of smokers (188,215)

Total paid per smoker for settlement payments = settlement payments amount divided by number of smokers

Smokers’ median income per CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2000, public use data

State annual income tax liability from PayBreeze software of General Programming, Inc., San Jose, California, which utilizes the Exact Calculation Method

Smoker facts from Rhode Island State Budget Office, FY 2002 Budget as Enacted, p. 17-18, Online at

http://www.budget.state.ri.us/

Jobs created and personal/corporate income tax paid from Economic Impact of Tobacco 1997

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Yes, the PRD....People's Republic of Delaware, LOL.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Bingo. I think it might have an impact. Just a wee bit.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Pathetic. But since you are so narrow minded that doesn't suprise me. YOU are the one that believes that using the state to dictate how my business or personal habits are managed is the correct way of life. That makes you a communist. Florida has nothing to do with this. We had two counties where the socialists, like yourself, were unable to have their socialist helpers go into the booth with them. I know that unless you receive your edicts and daily instructions via your Oprah decoder ring, you can't function. Now run along before you get spanked on this board any more. DU needs more people like you so that sickle and hammer can gather more momentum.

Just curious though; where do you propose the first camp and showers be set up? I'm sure you'll want to start putting the tatoos with serial numbers on people's forearms soon. Do you want to send the smokers, fast food addicts, beer drinkers, SUV drivers, or just do the traditional thing and send the Jews first?

[Nuke'm Glowing]

How do you boycott a state which has a smaller population than some truckstops? The only reason it wouldn't work, is because 75% of the population doesn't realize that the PRD exists. Just let it rot away as those remaning 500 non-communist citizens move away. Then the tree huggers can take over and the 1000 remaining citizens can't eat their tofu or hug their camels or whatever it is those people do.

[Just another Joe]

Which fact ? that tobacco smoke is the vilest smell on earth or that smokers who complain about the taxes end up paying whatever they have to because they cannot control themselves ?

Give me unbiased sources for these statements, please.

[Dakmar]

I hope you realize that my remarks about "stealing money from the hands of parents of hungry children who would rather use their money for something other than feeding their hungry children" were meant as satire of that mindset. Maybe I need to use sarcasm tags more, I just thought statement was so flat-out goofy that none were needed.

[VRWC_minion]

Give me unbiased sources for these statements, please.

Smell=my nose. Complaints = this thread.

[VRWC_minion]

But just wait, you are the next tax victum. They are already putting the pieces together for a "Twinkies" tax. Then it will be your automobile with a miles driven tax. There will be no end to it.

For what its worth, I am not obese, I rarely eat beef and I walk to work.

[VRWC_minion]

Complain about taxes? WHAT taxes? We buy off of the Net, the Reservations or roll our own. So NO taxes, "my pain in the ass

I believe your still paying the federal tax.

[VRWC_minion]

From code section 5701

(g) Roll-your-own tobacco

On roll-your-own tobacco, manufactured in or imported into the United States, there shall be imposed a tax of $1.0969 cents (95.67 cents on roll-your-own tobacco removed during 2000 or 2001) per pound (and a proportionate tax at the like rate on all fractional parts of a pound).

Besides, you don't count all the labor your putting into avoiding the tax. Another person could be cutting coupons or taking a part time job.

[Gabz]

What if we (meaning us smokers) decided on a targeted boycott. Don't mean to freak you out, but DE with it's relatively small size, socialistic tendencies would be a great target.

Make 'em squeal with the lack of taxes from a boycott on smoking. Have "out-of-state" smoking parties, buy smokes out of state, whatever. Come up with every single way of depriving DE of smoke taxes. I don't think it would take long before they went apopletic.

I'm all for it. I have been encouraging smokers evrwhere to email the tourism office and the governor's office explaining why they will not be returning to Delaware after November 26 when the full smoking ban goes into effect.

As for the cigarette taxes - that's a tough one. all the surrounding states raised their cig taxes this year, wiht most taking effect on July 1. Cigarette tax revenue increased by 58.8 percent from June, and was up over 46% from July of 2001.

It's too easy for many folks in Maryland, PA, and Jersey to get hear to save money. The state line is less than a 3 hour drive from New York City.

[VRWC_minion]

We have Air Purifiers in every room plus ceiling fans!

What a terrible disgusting smell that you have to have air purifiers just to make your home bearable. I'm sorry for you.

[VRWC_minion]

How can he call himself a Conservative when he does not believe in Free of Choice????

I love it that you choose to smoke. It keeps my tax bill low and my SS benefits high. Thank you. If it were not for your addiction, my life style would not be as good.

[VRWC_minion]

. Even if it IS is wife. The bitch!!

She is actually a good obedient Christian wife.

[steve50]

VRWC minion sounds like he/she/it is easily trained/conditioned. A statists dream citizen. I can't understand why people like this have an interest in a "conservative" news site as their prefered method of government seems to be collective authoritarian.

Perhaps it's a good thing I won't be around to see what passes for a conservative in another 30 years or so, or if I am perhaps senility will be kind to me.

[Just another Joe]

Smell=my nose. Complaints = this thread.

Not unbiased.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Ok, LOL. Sorry but we actually have people that believe in what you stated! There have been some real leftists who actually accuse smokers of depriving babies of health care in these threads. Thanks for the clarification!

[Nuke'm Glowing]

"For what its worth, I am not obese, I rarely eat beef and I walk to work."

I'm reporting you to the Vegan Society. You dare to eat beef? How dare you!!! That violates all of your tree hugging beliefs. Perhaps you should beg forgiveness and learn to sing "The Internaionale" in 4 languages. After you do that, you'll be welcomed back into the anti-smoking socialist clubs with open arms.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

It's called a DU agitator. Anyone who can be "easily trained/conditioned" is unable to think for themselves nor function independently. Everytime someone does something he or she or it doesn't like, even if it's 10 states away from him/her/it, they call the Federal government to protect them. They also used to wear the tag "communist", but that's not PC so you're not allowed to call them that anymore. You might hurt their feelings.

[VRWC_minion]

I'm reporting you to the Vegan Society. You dare to eat beef

I hope they have a non smoking dentention center.