[NaughtiusMaximus]

Gather around and I'll tell you a tale. About a town which was receiving more trade and taxes from smokers than it knew. After running them out of the bars, they went elsewhere, and a bunch of bars closed.

"Good riddance," said the citizens,"We don't want bars here anyway."

The cigarette and sales taxes from the bars and the smokers disappeared. But, as we all know, the politicians kept spending like they had before the Temperance forces hit the town. Now the town ran a big defecit so the politicians had to raise taxes: sales taxes, income taxes and property taxes.

Now the citizens are picketing the politicians. People who never smoked in their lives are leaving the town because its property values are dropping due to its high taxes. Jobs are disappearing. Businesses are closing. In the face of rapidly falling collections the politicians have no choice except to raise taxes on the remaining businesses and property owners.

The town: Mesa, Arizona

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

Maine is none too rich, and it collects a bucket of money from smokers.

[SheLion]

Now the citizens are picketing the politicians. People who never smoked in their lives are leaving the town because its property values are dropping due to its high taxes. Jobs are disappearing. Businesses are closing. In the face of rapidly falling collections the politicians have no choice except to raise taxes on the remaining businesses and property owners.

Beware the law of unintended consequences.

Maine is none too rich, and it collects a bucket of money from smokers. (You said a mouthfull!  With Maine slapping a $2 dollar tax on each pack of cigarettes, you can bet your boots Maine is raking it in!)

You put this so well! Thank you!

Like it or not, the smoking bans are choking our economy.  Most of the general non-smoking public do not want to believe this, but we see it more across the United States on a daily basis.  Businesses closing, lay-offs, cut-backs.  And the vendors that supply the business has to cut back as well.

The trickle down effect.

[SheLion]

Maine Information

Maine Rights:
A public yahoo group for anyone who wants to talk about the Maine smoking ban situation.

Maine Smokers Rights
Check it out if you plan on vacationing in Maine and if you are a smoker.

Outside decks for smokers in northern Maine just won't cut it!
Bravo's Mexican Restaurant in Augusta is one outlet that built a patio specially to accommodate smokers.

Taverns brace for smoking ban in different ways.

The following information is from 2002!  Imagine how much this has gone up with the added tax increase this past year?!

Tobacco Taxes

Maine's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $1.000
Maine's excise tax collection for the
fiscal year ending June 2002: $95,006,000

Sales tax on tobacco products: 5.00%

Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39
Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000

 

Comparing Excise Taxes on Cigarettes, Beer and Wine

Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Maine to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 50.8

Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Maine to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 84.1

Master Settlement Agreement Payments To Date

$182,122,188 has been paid to Maine since the Master Settlement Agreement was signed on November 23, 1998.

[maine-iac7]

Maine is none too rich, and it collects a bucket of money from smokers.

Actually, our local restaurants went no-smoke many years before it became law. Good 20+ years now. here customer base increased substantially.

The difference between theory and actuality?