[metesky]

Sam Miller, a spokesman for the Finance Department, said the city hauled in $23 million last month from smokers, compared to $2.3 million in July 2001.

I don't believe this for a second. They did not raise the tax by twenty times which is what they would have had to do to get ten times the money from half the sales.

When he first proposed the tax, Bloomberg said he was trying to save lives as well as raise revenue.

Another DemocRat altruist, a man who changed to Republican strictly to run for mayor but who remains a Dem at heart and by his actions.

Officials concede that smokers can easily evade the tax by shopping outside the five boroughs, especially at tax-free Indian reservations, and on the Internet.

Duh!

Richard Lipsky, who represents thousands of small stores in the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, warned that the city was threatening the survival of many mom-and-pop businesses.

Politicians, despite the rhetoric, don't give one d*mn about their constituents struggling to make a living selling a legal product.

He also predicted a wave of smuggling.

Double duh!

[6ppc]

They did not raise the tax by twenty times which is what they would have had to do to get ten times the money from half the sales.

Actually they did raise it almost twenty times. The tax went from $.08 to $1.50 per pack.

[hobbes1]

On July 1, the city's tax soared from 8 cents to $1.50 a pack
I don't believe this for a second. They did not raise the tax by twenty times which is what they would have had to do to get ten times the money from half the sales

Yes, they did. or At least close enough for government work, plus the "half the sales" is also a round figure. It is actually closer to 54%......so the numbers are accurate.

[Great Dane]

#6...... They are not being very astute, they will loose a lot more sales than 50%, they will also loose the business taxes from the small businesses going bankrupt.