Maine: Panel OKs $1 tax hike on cigarettes

bangordailynews.com ^ | 6-15-05

[SheLion]

I've done searches and can't seem to find anything on that at this moment.

[Just A Nobody]

People will buy on-line from a certain Indian Reservation that will not release it's records.

If it's the same one I use, they have a great phone system as well. No on-line records "ordered" by the tyrannical judges.

[SheLion]

If it's the same one I use, they have a great phone system as well. No on-line records "ordered" by the tyrannical judges.

I think the state of Maine put a colbash on our Reservations as well. I don't hear where anyone can still buy cigarettes from a Maine Reservation. If they are, it's hush-hush.

Maine is trying to shut down the sells of cigarettes from Reservations as well.

If anyone knows about this, please let me know.

[Phantom Lord]

StoneCold,

NC is becoming less and less tobacco friendly.

[dts32041]

Come on the watermelon's don't want anybody in maine, but themselves.

[SheLion]

Come on the watermelon's don't want anybody in maine, but themselves.

Once they bleed dry the "little people," where will they get their coffers filled then?  Ted Kennedy? heh!

Come on the watermelon's don't want anybody in maine, but themselves.

Once they bleed dry the "little people," where will they get their coffers filled then?  Ted Kennedy? heh!

[SheLion]

I will tell you another thing: I am sick and tired of Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine putting these retards on their TV advertisements!

I wonder how much these retards are being paid from the taxes smoker's are paying on cigarettes?!

[The Great RJ]

Maine legislators need a course in basic economics. If the price of a good increases the market responds by buying less of that good or seeking cheaper substitutes.

Maine smokers might actually quit smoking or at least cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke or more likely will buy their cigarettes from cheaper sources such as from the Internet, in Indian reservation smoke shops or from bootleggers. This increase in tax will likely decrease the revenue raised and create a need for expensive tax enforcement.

The old story of the goose that laid the golden egg is very applicable here.

[Mears]

Oh my God----here come the bootleggers!

[SheLion]

Maine legislators need a course in basic economics. If the price of a good increases the market responds by buying less of that good or seeking cheaper substitutes.

It's the American Way to shop cheap.  And by raising taxes through the roof on one legal item is their way of keeping their coffers full is not the way to go about this.  They did indeed kill the goose that laid the golden egg.  

Maine smokers might actually quit smoking or at least cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke or more likely will buy their cigarettes from cheaper sources such as from the Internet, in Indian reservation smoke shops or from bootleggers. This increase in tax will likely decrease the revenue raised and create a need for expensive tax enforcement.

Adult smokers, such as myself, will not quit.  We know the risks, such as over eating is also a killer, and we make our choices.  It should not be left up to any state to monitor our legal activities.  But to continually punish 25-30% of Maine constituents just because we choose to purchase a legal product is insane and way over the top.

The old story of the goose that laid the golden egg is very applicable here.

Maine legislators need a course in basic economics. If the price of a good increases the market responds by buying less of that good or seeking cheaper substitutes.

It's the American Way to shop cheap.  And by raising taxes through the roof on one legal item is their way of keeping their coffers full is not the way to go about this.  They did indeed kill the goose that laid the golden egg.  

Maine smokers might actually quit smoking or at least cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke or more likely will buy their cigarettes from cheaper sources such as from the Internet, in Indian reservation smoke shops or from bootleggers. This increase in tax will likely decrease the revenue raised and create a need for expensive tax enforcement.

Adult smokers, such as myself, will not quit.  We know the risks, such as over eating is also a killer, and we make our choices.  It should not be left up to any state to monitor our legal activities.  But to continually punish 25-30% of Maine constituents just because we choose to purchase a legal product is insane and way over the top.

The old story of the goose that laid the golden egg is very applicable here.

[SheLion]

Oh my God----here come the bootleggers!

If the bootleggers charge just HALF of what the state is getting in cigarette taxes, they will indeed be billionaires in a short amount of time.

[SheLion]

The increase would effectively drive up the over-the-counter price for a pack of premium cigarettes like Marlboro from $4.19 to $5.19.

This is wrong.  Back in 2001 when Maine raised the cigarette taxes I had to pay $45-$50 for a carton of More Menthol cigarettes.   Now, with this additional tax of $1.00 on one pack, that is $10 more dollars for taxes on one carton.

That would put More's or Premiums at $55 to $60 dollars for a carton which holds 10 packs. 

[Mears]

There was a show on the History Channel last week about the moonshiners and they made fortunes AFTER prohibition because of the high taxes the government put on alcohol .

Don't these morons ever learn?

[lowbuck]

Correct you are. . . I wonder how long it will take for some Maniacs (I lived there so don't bust my chops) to head South with a U-haul to buy low and sell low and make a fortune?

They pulled the same stunt here in Germany and sure enough the people worked around the system. Strangely the economic minister was moaning earlier this year about the loss of revenue. Poor lambs.

[SheLion]

Don't these morons ever learn?

I guess not. 

I received the following in email this morning.  Read it and weep......It's called "Mouse Trap."

I received this from a friend who is not involved in any smokers' rights group but she has always been very alert as to what's going on in this country and she's not thrilled.    

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is amousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house."  The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but 
there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow. She  said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no  skin off my nose." So, the mouse  returned to the house, head
down and dejected, to  face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.  The farmer's wife rushed to see what was
caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the  trap had caught.  The snake bit  the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed
her to the  hospital, and she returned home with a fever. 

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's  sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered  the pig.

The  farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many  people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to  provide enough meat for all
of them.


So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

[JZelle]

http://www.smokinfree.com/?cigs4free

[CSM]

http://www.maine.gov/portal/facts_history/facts.html
Facts About Maine
Fast Facts
Population of Maine in 2000: 1,274,923

With a $5,700,000,000 budget, that comes to about $4,470.86 per resident. They would be better off just sending checks to every resident for $4,000.

But wait, then they wouldn't be able to employ all the useless folks in good government jobs.

[1Old Pro]

good one

[Gabz]

Very good.............but there are many who will not heed the moral of the story........and many of them reside right here at FR.

[SheLion]

TO ALL CUSTOMERS:
Credit Cards charges are no longer available for tobacco purchases.

Please choose one of the following  payment options: 

ECHECK or Money Order only.

Isn't  that something!  If I couldn't use my credit card for a legal purchase anymore, what good is having said credit card?  How ridiculous is this? Place your order  by Better to be safe then sorry though.