Nothing new with that.
Posted on 08/12/2011 7:27:34 AM PDT by KyGeezer
FRANKFORT — Revenue from Kentucky's cigarette tax is in free-fall, but more Kentuckians kicking the unhealthy habit isn't the only reason for the decline.
State officials say more and more people are turning to cheaper alternatives — little cigars and roll-your-own cigarettes — that aren't covered by the state's 60-cent-a-pack tax.
The little cigars look much like cigarettes but are wrapped in brown paper. They cost about $1.25 a pack, compared to about $3.25 for the cheapest pack of cigarettes.
The move to small cigars and roll-your-own cigarettes is a national trend. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that states have lost $5 billion a year because people are using alternatives that have no state retail cigarette tax.
In Kentucky, state budget officials are predicting a 17.2 percent decline in revenue from the cigarette tax this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Last fiscal year, the state collected $262.4 million from cigarette taxes, down nearly 6 percent from 2010.
It's difficult to say how much of the decline is related directly to cheaper alternatives, but revenue officials say the loss from self-rolled cigarettes and small cigars is possibly in the millions of dollars.
When the legislature agreed to double the cigarette tax in 2009, the move was applauded by health advocates as a way to encourage more people to quit. It also bolstered the state's cash-strapped budget.
At first, cigarette tax revenue increased. But in June 2010, revenue from the tax began to dip.
At the same time, the state Department of Revenue, which collects tobacco-related taxes, saw retailers devote more shelf space to pipe tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco, said Richard Dobson, director of sales and excise taxes for the revenue department.
(Excerpt) Read more at kentucky.com ...
I used to have an Uncle Buck who was an interesting person to say the least. He would have made a good Hollywood character actor. He was always interesting to be around. He had been a hobo during the depression, a blacksmith, a sawmill operator and a lot of other things.
To a little kid, one fascinating thing was watching him roll a cigarette. He would take out a wrapper, hold it between two fingers then tap some tobacco from a “Prince Albert” can and in around 2 seconds, lick one end of the paper and have a rolled up cigarette. The whole thing took maybe 6 or 7 seconds.
While I wish my son would stop smoking, he and a friend are growing tobacco. I can’t wait to see how that works out.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1310901/posts
A belated thanks to Randall Flagg who was the author.
I enjoy tobacco in various forms and have been looking into growing my own. I'll be hitting the local Amish up for some advice.
Nothing new with that.
bttt
Bully for them. All the more power to them. I’m not a smoker, but I love screwing the government out of tax dollars. GO FOR IT!
“It seems once one is employed in public service, the notion of unintended consequences becomes unfathomable.”
This is definitely a quotable quote! Well stated, and absolutely true.
You can get a 10 pack of mini-Romeo y Julietta at most CVS’ for 10-14$.
These days, “roll your own” is much different. Stores sell boxes of filtered cigarette tubes and have automated machines to stuff them.
You pour the tobacco in the top of the machine, set the amount in each tube and put the tubes in a hopper in the front.
The roll your own shops are a bit like speakeasies, since they sell all the components and supply the machines, but you do the work yourself to avoid taxes.
Just wait a year and there will be revenuers coming after these places.
“What’s the difference between a small cigar and a cigarette?”
Cigars and cigarillos are tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaves, cigarettes are tobacco wrapped in paper.
Same here. Every once in a while someone gives me a regular cig when I'm out of stogies, and they taste awful. Can't believe I ever spent good money on them. I could never go back.
Sorta like getting a taste of 12 year old single malt Scotch. Makes the blended stuff taste like tractor starter.
“Old Mr. Anderson our neighbor used to grow his own tobacco.”
Old Mr. Anderson was violating federal law. We can’t have citizens growing plants that are a tax boon for the government, now can we?
You can roll your own with filters. In the 70s, I used a Laredo machine, canned tobacco and loose filters. Today, I use a different machine with tubes prefitted with filters and bagged tobacco. If government tries to tax that, I’ll find another way. Screw them.
Mail order cigarettes or tobacco is not a separately categorized “mailed” product requiring different compliance's than any other mail order product. The “Jenkins Act” applies to “all” mail order products period! It is a “Federal” law and thereby governs all mail order retailers of all products whether they are reservation based or not. It is not legal to avoid taxes. It is not legal to tamper with the U.S. Mail by “anyone” without a search warrant. As a United States Citizen you are free to make your own choices. Penalties can be imposed if certain states discover that cigarette taxes have not been paid; however, no penalties will be imposed for any other tobacco product. “Federal” Statute says you can legally have 60,000 cigarettes in your possession for personal use only.
It is their money, why should we be able to keep it? (Sarc)
You can get smokes from the Indian res tax free. That makes ‘em a lot cheaper. The higher the taxes the more smuggling that goes on.
The biggest sellers of tobacco seed are a couple of outfits in Oregon, of all places. I read an article on that last year when they talked about how their sales had skyrocketed due to people wanting to grow their own to avoid the ripoff taxes.
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