tobacco taxes set to skyrocket...
New Federal Tobacco Tax Means Michigan Smokers Getting Double Taxed - Associated Content
(FOR EXAMPLE)
Starting in April, the tax on some of those items will go up by as much as 2200 percent.
"We're the ones that keep getting hit."
Robert Loch is a smoker. He says while he understands the country's in dire financial straits, he doesn't agree with continually increasing the tax on tobacco products to help make up for it.
The current unbridled greed of both federal and state governments in fleecing as much profit as they can from tobacco sales to pay for budget shortfalls may encourage many smokers (like myself) to switch to e-cigarettes. Of course they will do everything in their power to ban electronic smoking products until such time as they may be able to both regulate them to death and to tax the bejesus out of them.
It seems to me that they are showing as little compassion for low income people affected by this as they seem to be ignorant by apparently shooting themselves in the foot. At no point has the government ever considered BANNING the stuff. No, only to vilify it in order to placate the anti-smoking nazis. Let's see the thing for what it is. Pure, unmitigated, overzealous greed.
I've been able to purchase medication I've required (in my case, valium) cheaply over the Internet from foreign countries for quite a number of years and thanks to forums like this one. Hopefully no matter what happens here in the U.S., e-smoking will continue to be an option to those of us that would like to tell their state and federal governments that, on this issue, they can just go stuff themselves.
Federal tobacco tax increases:
On April 1st of this year the Federal Government will be raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 per pack.
Large cigar tax will go up to about 40 cents per cigar from a nickel per cigar.
Small cigar tax will go up to a $1 per pack from 4 cents.
Pipe tobacco tax from $1.10 per pound to $2.83 per pound.
Chewing tobacco tax from 19.5 cents to 50.3 cents per pound.
Snuff tax from 53.5 cents to $1.51 per pound.
Loose tobacco tax (roll your own) from $1.10 to $24.78 per pound.
In Michigan, the folks that roll their own will be getting hit the hardest. With the combined Federal and state tax, the average price of popular rolling tobacco will go up from about $20 per one pound bag to $70 per bag.
The federal increase comes after a series of cigarette tax increases by dozens of states over the last five years. The trend has driven up cigarette prices and is expected to continue.
So far this year, 16 states have considered legislation to increase cigarette taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2007, tobacco tax hikes passed in 11 states. Last year, 20 states debated increases, but only two passed. They were unusually large -- a $1 hike in Massachusetts and $1.25 in New York. At $2.75 a pack, New York has the country's highest cigarettes taxes.
Two factors have the potential to spark another wave of tax hikes this year, tobacco analysts said. The prolonged economic downturn has created budget deficits in nearly every state. Lawmakers generally face less resistance to increasing 'sin taxes' than income taxes or sales taxes paid by everyone.
The fact that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, is backing a state tobacco tax hike "is the clearest indication yet that policy makers see the writing on the wall," said Pete Fisher, vice president for state issues for the advocacy group Tobacco-Free Kids.
"They have budget gaps to fill. Lots of governors see they can raise cigarette taxes without facing a backlash from voters who might oppose other kinds of tax increases," Fisher said.
Payne, the Reynolds spokesman, said the hike Obama signed Wednesday could hurt states that rely heavily on cigarette taxes. The volume declines prompted by the new federal rate will also cut state cigarette tax revenues, he said.
"They're not going to get the money they're expecting," he said.
Manufacturers hike cigarette prices in advance of April 1 taxes
While Schip was being debated - Big Tobacco argued that higher taxes (read prices) would adversely impact lower income consumers.
Ahead of a massive tobacco tax increase on April 1, PM and Lorillard weighed in and increased cigarette prices - 9 to 18 cents a pack.
Customers are going to have a difficult enough time funding their smoking pleasures from April 1 without manufacturers raising prices as well in this economy.
New Federal Tobacco Tax Means Michigan Smokers Getting Double Taxed - Associated Content
(FOR EXAMPLE)
Starting in April, the tax on some of those items will go up by as much as 2200 percent.
"We're the ones that keep getting hit."
Robert Loch is a smoker. He says while he understands the country's in dire financial straits, he doesn't agree with continually increasing the tax on tobacco products to help make up for it.
The current unbridled greed of both federal and state governments in fleecing as much profit as they can from tobacco sales to pay for budget shortfalls may encourage many smokers (like myself) to switch to e-cigarettes. Of course they will do everything in their power to ban electronic smoking products until such time as they may be able to both regulate them to death and to tax the bejesus out of them.
It seems to me that they are showing as little compassion for low income people affected by this as they seem to be ignorant by apparently shooting themselves in the foot. At no point has the government ever considered BANNING the stuff. No, only to vilify it in order to placate the anti-smoking nazis. Let's see the thing for what it is. Pure, unmitigated, overzealous greed.
I've been able to purchase medication I've required (in my case, valium) cheaply over the Internet from foreign countries for quite a number of years and thanks to forums like this one. Hopefully no matter what happens here in the U.S., e-smoking will continue to be an option to those of us that would like to tell their state and federal governments that, on this issue, they can just go stuff themselves.
Federal tobacco tax increases:
On April 1st of this year the Federal Government will be raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 per pack.
Large cigar tax will go up to about 40 cents per cigar from a nickel per cigar.
Small cigar tax will go up to a $1 per pack from 4 cents.
Pipe tobacco tax from $1.10 per pound to $2.83 per pound.
Chewing tobacco tax from 19.5 cents to 50.3 cents per pound.
Snuff tax from 53.5 cents to $1.51 per pound.
Loose tobacco tax (roll your own) from $1.10 to $24.78 per pound.
In Michigan, the folks that roll their own will be getting hit the hardest. With the combined Federal and state tax, the average price of popular rolling tobacco will go up from about $20 per one pound bag to $70 per bag.
The federal increase comes after a series of cigarette tax increases by dozens of states over the last five years. The trend has driven up cigarette prices and is expected to continue.
So far this year, 16 states have considered legislation to increase cigarette taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2007, tobacco tax hikes passed in 11 states. Last year, 20 states debated increases, but only two passed. They were unusually large -- a $1 hike in Massachusetts and $1.25 in New York. At $2.75 a pack, New York has the country's highest cigarettes taxes.
Two factors have the potential to spark another wave of tax hikes this year, tobacco analysts said. The prolonged economic downturn has created budget deficits in nearly every state. Lawmakers generally face less resistance to increasing 'sin taxes' than income taxes or sales taxes paid by everyone.
The fact that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, is backing a state tobacco tax hike "is the clearest indication yet that policy makers see the writing on the wall," said Pete Fisher, vice president for state issues for the advocacy group Tobacco-Free Kids.
"They have budget gaps to fill. Lots of governors see they can raise cigarette taxes without facing a backlash from voters who might oppose other kinds of tax increases," Fisher said.
Payne, the Reynolds spokesman, said the hike Obama signed Wednesday could hurt states that rely heavily on cigarette taxes. The volume declines prompted by the new federal rate will also cut state cigarette tax revenues, he said.
"They're not going to get the money they're expecting," he said.
Manufacturers hike cigarette prices in advance of April 1 taxes
While Schip was being debated - Big Tobacco argued that higher taxes (read prices) would adversely impact lower income consumers.
Ahead of a massive tobacco tax increase on April 1, PM and Lorillard weighed in and increased cigarette prices - 9 to 18 cents a pack.
Customers are going to have a difficult enough time funding their smoking pleasures from April 1 without manufacturers raising prices as well in this economy.
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