Anyone still smoking cigarettes, or any other tobacco product, probably won't be soon.The major cigarette makers raised prices a couple of weeks ago, partly to offset any drop in profits once the per-pack tax climbs from 39 cents to $1.01. That's on top of a cigarette price increase from the tobacco companies, adding .71 to .80 cents per pack to offset future losses.
Why? Tobacco taxes are soaring to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children. On February 4, 2009, Congress enacted, and President Obama signed into law, a 62-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax, along with increases in other tobacco taxes, to fund expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The federal cigarette tax will increase to $1.01 per pack on March 31, 2009.
Advocates against smoking will see nothing but WIN in this...(link here)
And other states, like the Great Corrupt State of Illinois is viewing this as an opportunity to tack on another DOLLAR of tax on top of the already steep increase. (link here)
Of course, the obvious unintended consequence of raising cigarette, and other tobacco product's taxes, is that they are tying funding to a source of fluctuating income. In other words, if you tax it too much, the smokers will go away. Now your funding is gone.Another thought is that black market cigarettes, or even funneling cigarettes through Duty-Free stores will sky rocket. And if you think rolling your own is a solution around it? Guess again. The tax on RYO tobacco goes from $1.10 per pound to $24.78 per pound. That's more than 2,100 percent! Tuesday, a sack of RYO tobacco will cost $15; Wednesday it will be $40.
So how many of you will be smoking on April Fools Day?
Got plans to quit, or will you just pay... oh, 10 or 11 bucks a pack in Chicago or New York?
Well, that proves it to me that a huge tax on ammunition is next. I don't think smokers will revolt like gun owners would. Besides, what would smokers use to fight back? I know what gun owners would use. Words!! Yah, anyway...
ReplyDeleteand now you have people living longer which ads to the healthcare problem - and you also get fat when you quit smoking - so you become a fat ass that lives longer, and if there's no money because no one is smoking - then what'll they do?
ReplyDeleteThey tax beer! Aaaaahhhhggggg
http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/latest_news/releases/mar_2006/Tobacco%203-8-06%20DC%20Revised%20Power%20Point%20slide%20(2).gif
ReplyDeletehttp://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=403
So, from 1990-2005, the number of cigarettes smoked in the United States dropped by about 1/3. Over that same time period, the total tax revenue in the United States from tobacco more than doubled.
So for the last 15 years, raising taxes on tobacco (how you end up with more money from fewer cigarettes) has increased total revenue steadily, even as smoking became less popular.