Comments on: Schip – right program / wrong funding?

By: NYsmoker

NYsmoker — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:51:11 +0000

they also what to increase the loose tobacco for rolling your own cigarettes to $24.60 LB. consumption will go down somewhat. I will now be growing my own. and i am sure there will be more who will grow there own

By: Smoker Gal

Smoker Gal — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:42:15 +0000

Top Seller your right I just hope it doesn’t happen in my lifetime.

By: DEERHUNTER

DEERHUNTER — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:42:02 +0000

Been gone for a while but the only other thing I feel is of setriment is that the government just wants more control of its subjects.

By: Top Seller

Top Seller — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:31:39 +0000

All of the above is interesting, and the only cause and effect relationships are as Taxes go up, consumption will go down, and as consumption goes down, taxes go up, and round and round we go, until they might just kill the golden goose

By: Top Seller

Top Seller — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:28:39 +0000

Tobacco Taxes are regressive in nature and our politicians (I wouldn’t call them all representatives, because most are only self-representative) need a history lesson and to start taxing other items that do not target (directly or indirectly) those without the economic fortitude to carry such a disproportionate tax burden. Frankly I feel the argument of health risk is antiquated seeing that virtually EVERYONE KNOWS that smoking ANYTHING is likely to cause health concerns over the long term.

By: jancascade

jancascade — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:23:58 +0000

John Q. Smoking Public will vote with their dollars, they already have been. We will see more cigarettes sold out of the trunk of a car than the local C-store. The black market is huge in the high tax states and Canada.
It will only grow a legal retail shrinks. The states spend millions trying to catch tax cheats, they go audit the retailers because they know where to find them. They only catch the bad guys for some stupid traffic infraction.

We capped the Oregon premium cigar tax at fifty cents per cigar. This cap caused a huge revene increase here. Our legislators will not mess with that tax again, they are making too much money. Today we have five other states that took a look at Oregon’s cigar tax cap and followed suit. They to are enjoying higher revenue collections. Do we tax for revenue or to set some socialist agenda?

If government gives the people a fair and just tax rate, they pay it willingly, support local businesses and keep their dollars circulating in the local economy. When the states get greedy, they lose the support of the people, who will go out of their way to say to hell with this, I’m not paying that tax. The states end up chasing phantoms.

I keep wondering if we will ever see government leaders will common sense. The power to tax should not be used for social engineering and this nonesense has run its course.

By: EX WS

EX WS — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:12:07 +0000

Oh come on folks – a pack of cigs cost how much in 1954. I think the next time I’m in a Cracker Barrel I’ll look at those old signs! So how many times more does it cost for that pack of Lucky Strike today? How much have the taxes actually increased? Forget the percentages look at the actual dollars so we can see how our state and federal government mismanage funds. Plus tell me another product that is taxed dollar wise and % wise. There is no misperception Bill. The taxes are exceptionally higher. You continue to use your logic to protect the governments mismanagement of the revenue they steal from the people.

By: Bill Godshall

Bill Godshall — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:12:37 +0000

The Tax Burden on Tobacco (which was published for decades by the Tobacco Institute prior to that trade association’s shutdown by the 1998 MSA) relies upon upon tobacco industry data.

As a percentage of retail price, the combined federal and state cigarette excise tax rate fluctuated between 46%-51% from 1954 until 1973. Then it gradually fell throughout the 1970′s, 80′s and 90′s to a low of 22% in 1999. Since then, multiple state cigarette tax hikes have increased the cigarette tax rate to 34% in 2007.

Many people (especially smokers) incorrectly believe that cigarette tax rate is far higher now than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago because the cigarette industry has spent lots of money on deceptive propaganda.

The huge decline in cigarette tax rates is due to inflation, as cigarettes are taxed by the pack, not as a percentage of price (as are most other types of taxation). By taxing them on a per pack basis, cigarette taxes must be increased every few years (to offset inflation) in order to maintain a steady tax rate (as a percentage of price).

By: EX WS

EX WS — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:41:49 +0000

Jan is this what your referring to in your above comments? Wow 48%!

Dave Bryans, president of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association and member of the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco, is urging the Federal government to establish a commission to crack down on contraband cigarette trade after a report released by the Ontario Auditor found that 48% of cigarettes sold in the Province is illegal, which deprives the government of C$ 500 million (US$ 399.4 mn) in tax revenues each year. (Canada Newswire 12/08)

By: jancascade

jancascade — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:42:41 +0000

Bill, where do those numbers come from? The smoking rate have dropped considerably since 1954. It makes no sense that with such a dramatic drop in smoking rates the “tax burden” (whatever that is) would be greater. Do you have the what made up the tax burden in 1954 and what constituted the “tax burden” in 2007. Are we comparing apples to apples?

Are these numbers actual scientific data or computer simulated data? You know what they say about computers, garbage in, garbage out. It like creative accounting.