States Brace for Cigarette Backlash

AP via TBO ^ | 7/13/02 | DAVID CRARY

[facedown]

Take your pick!

[irksome1]

Curses! Foiled Again!

I'll get you next time, Free Market! Next Time!

[TomGuy]

as budget woes and anti-smoking militancy transform cigarette buyers into America's easiest-to-tax constituency

Compare sources here: cigaretteyellowpages.com

Remember the Boston Tea Party? It's about time for a Tobacco Butt Party and butt the elected money-grabbers out.

After they have drained the tobacco/smokers, they will go after other sources of revenue--beer and alcohol, fast foods, colas, the list is endless and each will get a turn at being taxed out of existence.

[Chewbacca]

How much are tobacco seeds, and where can I get some?

[Dawgsquat]

Anti-smoking advocates call it a win-win situation, enabling states to reduce smoking and budget deficits simultaneously.

??????????????

[Mr Fowl]

Also...............

Bulk tobacco-rollyourown-stuffyourown
http://www.cigarettetobacco.com/index.htm
http://www.ryotobacco.com/index.php3
http://www.webservr.com/rollyourown/
http://www.seedman.com/access.html

Discount commercial cigs
http://www.discountcigarettes.net/004-g100.htm
http://www.thetobaccoshop.com/page19.htm

[Flyer]

state and federal authorities lose more than $1.5 billion annually in evaded cigarette taxes.

Add to that the cost of investigating smuggling and evasion, plus the prosecution costs - it may be a net loss.

---

[Bandolier]

I caught that too; it's either one, or the other, babe. If they pay the taxes, revenue increases. If they quit, they don't pay the taxes, and the revenue takes a dump.

[Timesink]

Anti-smoking advocates call it a win-win situation, enabling states to reduce smoking and budget deficits simultaneously.

This is why anti-smoking advocates are idiots. It's not a win-win situation, it's a zero-sum game. Except it's a zero-sum game with a loophole; you can buy over the web or just drive across the border into another state and pay far less. End result: The smoker doesn't stop, or even reduce, his smoking, and his home state goes from collecting a modest amount of tax to getting none at all.

[Drew68]

Bumped and bookmarked!

[Jaidyn]

Congressmen know that cigarettes are an easy target for two reasons. The first is that smokers have been made to feel guilty for years and would sit back and take it. Instead of calling it a 'sin' tax, it should be called a guilt tax. The second reason is that fewer people are smoking now which means that smokers are no longer a big voting bloc. These cowards need to be thrown out on their collective arses because they are a detriment to society. I quit giving to the republican party because of their herniated spines.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[Gabz]

In Congress, Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., is leading an effort to tighten regulation of Internet cigarette sales. Meehan's chief of staff, Bill McCann, predicted bipartisan legislation would be drafted this year aimed at enforcing existing requirements that Internet merchants block sales to minors and report out-of-state buyers.

I've got no problem with the cracking down on sales to minors. But I was under the impression there is not to be collection of state taxes on internet sales.

And before anyone says there is a diference between sales tax and excise tax - I will state there isn't. If you don't buy the product, you don't pay the excise tax, therefore it is an additional sales tax on specific products.

If they get away with collecing the excise tax, what is going to stop them from collecting the sales tax on any other product????

[jackbill]

I quit giving to the republican party because of their herniated spines.

Me too!

I throw away - without opening - at least two Republican begging letters a week. And I get about one phone call a month, to which I say "Not interested".

[Drango]

In many legislatures, even tax-averse conservatives have supported the increases.

Good for them. Except for the smoking Jihad here, a lot of conservatives regard smoking as an ugly, dirty, sinking, disgusting habit and efforts to reduce it deserve praise rather than ridicule. Many, many conservatives both in the legislature and in the general population vote to regulate or tax the vile stuff.

[wcbtinman]

"After they have drained the tobacco/smokers, they will go after other sources..."

Bet you a nickle that once the mechanism is in place for identity and enforcement actions, the very next commodity concentrated on will be ammunition and reloading supplies. It will be done quietly and without much if any coverage in the press.

I have long thought that the rapidly increasing burden put on smokers might be the proverbial last straw, and bureaucrats might have to start looking over their shoulders for the smoking gun. (pun intended)

[Jorge]

I caught that too; it's either one, or the other, babe. If they pay the taxes, revenue increases. If they quit, they don't pay the taxes, and the revenue takes a dump.

Exactly.
Furthermore if they pay the taxes, revenue increases, but those revenues don't materialize out of nothing...they are revenues sucked out of other sectors of the economy.