Is This Cig. Tax Reasonable?
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| Wed, 04-01-2009 - 12:59pm |
The new cigarette taxes take effect today.
I don't roll cigarettes, but I found this to be quite harsh. The average cost of a pound went from $15.99 to $60.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6352568.html
Are they just haphazardly throwing taxes out here and there, and hoping for the best? If the real reason is for people to quit smoking.. and they do, what are they going to go after next to make up that revenue? Should one section of the US be more responsible for child health care than the rest?
I'm disappointed in this new tax. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities that this could cause many stores to fail, and leave people without jobs.
I think smokers are such an easy target that no one's thinking ahead on this issue.

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Then those who are addicted need to seek help rather than the easy way out by taking it out on their children.
Except we don't find the executives of Philip Morris and RJR Reynolds mowing each other down with sub machine guns and decapitating each others families in turf wars.
But hasn't tobacco killed more people, and others by second hand smoke, than this current gang war in Mexico ever has?
If we are going to argue for the government supporting low cost addiction for the sake of the children, again, legal drugs cost a lot less than black market drugs.
Well, I wasn't, but I will answer your question.
Vicodin from a pharmacy costs about $1 a pill, and on the streets $20 +. Isn't that an argument for legalization of drugs?
Wow.
I thought that only the federal tax portion of cigarettes went up 300%, not the cost of a pack of cigarettes going up 300%.
I'm not sure I understand...
I don't have all the figures on the top of my head, it just struck me as unfair that loose tobacco went up 300% because of federal taxes enacted yesterday.
So.. the actual cost to buy a pound of loose tobacco
Let's put it another way....Is it "reasonable" to smoke?
Nope.
I find lots of things not "reasonable" to do, and yet
I gather it's about $1 more per pack.
>"The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes more than tripled to more than one dollar, from 39 cents, the Treasury Department said. For a 10-pack carton, the tax leapt to 10.06 dollars from 3.90 dollars.
Taxes on all other tobacco products increased. Some of the largest hikes were on roll-your-own tobacco, raised to 24.78 dollars per pound from 1.09 dollars, and small cigars, to 50.33 dollars per 1,000 from 1.82 dollars.
The tobacco tax hikes were part of the Children?s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 4."<
See link for more.....
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gGrrC0sRMiQ9OLGvb3Iy-eWtdovQ
Thank you for the figures.
I also don't want my son to start smoking tobacco (like he did in high school.) Lucky for us, he has quit, and expressed a real distaste for it since.
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...But IS it "unfair"?
As for restricting certain activities, particularly the unreasonable ones (which isn't quite the same as the tax issue) is that a problem? For example, is it "unfair" to restrict where a person can smoke....At what age they can buy cigarettes...etc?
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Well that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish - one I'm reluctant to tackle in this thread. Thankfully it doesn't ave anything to do with the subject at hand *whew*.
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I'm familiar with whom you speak (and I have a lot of respect for his debating style...and many of his views on a number of subjects). We do not see eye to eye on the gun issue (but as a Canadian, owning weapons has never part of our constitution). Anyway, I've long learned to let that debate rest because he certainly is a formidable opponent and always has all of his arguments neatly lined up on this subject. I just don't have the same passion or staying power....LOL!
I have to ask YOU though....How is increasing taxes on tobacco actually taking anyone's rights away?
Edited 4/2/2009 4:10 pm ET by moxysuvous
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