Michigan began a series of large cigarette tax increases in the 1990s, raising the incentive for illicit trafficking. In 1994 the state raised its 25 cent cigarette tax to 75 cents per pack--a 200 percent hike. Taxes were increased by an additional 50 cents per pack in 2002. The most recent increase took effect July 1, 2005. That was a 75 cents a pack hike, taking Michigan's cigarette tax to its current $2 a pack.
So what does smuggling cigarettes from NC to MI have to do with buying cigarettes on the internet?