April 3, 2008
NY State to Raise Cigarette Tax by $1.25
Smokers, you'll need to save up or shell out or simply quit, as state officials have agreed to increase the tax on cigarettes by $1.25, which would give NY State the highest per-pack tax of $2.75. And in NYC, there's that $1.50 tax, so Big Apple residents will have to pay $4.25 in cigarette taxes.
The Center for a Tobacco Free New York believes the tax will encourage 6% of the state's smokers to quit and discourage children from starting, but some smokers think that more people will be heading to Indian reservations to buy cigarettes. Other opponents of the tax said the black market for cigarettes will become more robust, creating a "black market goldmine."
In fact, a 2007 Independent Budget Office report found 27% of NYC smokers bought "under-taxed" cigarettes. Audrey Silk of Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment told the Sun, "It encourages people not to be ripped off."
NYC has banned smoking in restaurants and bars for five years (!), and now some apartment buildings are including no-smoking rules. And the city's health department runs a very dramatic ad campaign pointing out the dangers of smoking.
Photograph by niznoz on Flickr
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wow. that last paragraph is a doozy
Jenchungism galore. I likey.
This is ridiculous. Why doesn't the government just go ahead and make smoking and the distribution of tobaco products illegal? Instead, people that smoke are subject to legal extortion.
Ever heard of Prohibition? That's why.
We should also increase the fines for littering to a truly punishing level and actually enforce the law.
Higher taxes will just cause smokers to feel more justified to throw their crap on the ground. People will continue to pay the huge taxes if they want to smoke, and think that the cost of sanitation is somehow paid by that tax.
If they are fined in addition, the city wont look as terrible, the city will take in more revenue as fines and cigarettes sold on the "black market" would also generate revenue for the city. If you throw a cigarette on the ground and you are fined, it wont matter if the cigarettes came from an Indian reservation or plucked from a cancer patient's mouth, in between gasps from their oxygen tank.
We can look forward to the amusement of tobacco joining marijuana, the opiates, meth, and other illegal drugs and reinforcing the trade and the Drug War. Gangsters have to have something to do, I suppose.
Another tax on the poor...
Other opponents of the tax said the black market for cigarettes will become more robust, creating a "black market goldmine."
Pigouvian taxes create a black market. I really hate this state sometimes. You would think that someone understand basic market economics, but time and time again we shoot ourselves in the feet.
A family member of mine works in tobacco sales, and tells me you wouldn't believe how shady some C-stores are in the outer NYC area. Many fake mobsters abound get their cigs from down South and sell them up here on the cheap--another negative externality.
Another tax on the poor...
No. The tax hits everyone equally. You might call it regressive if you say everyone smokes one pack a day and therefore the poor pay a higher portion of their income to the tax. But the important thing is that you can always quit smoking. You can't not pay income taxes or sales taxes. There's is a huge difference. Quit smoking and you don't pay the tax.
Damnit. Remember the story last week about fat New Yorkers? This tax will just lead to more fat chicks. Someone please get some Columbian to ship in some more cocaine.
The Center for a Tobacco Free New York believes the tax will encourage 6% of the state's smokers to quit and discourage children from starting,
From the Bureau of Made Up Shit.
I'll make up that it will encourage 4% of the state's smokers to start going to Vermont to buy their cartons.
No. The tax hits everyone equally. You might call it regressive if you say everyone smokes one pack a day and therefore the poor pay a higher portion of their income to the tax. But the important thing is that you can always quit smoking. You can't not pay income taxes or sales taxes. There's is a huge difference. Quit smoking and you don't pay the tax.
It's another tax on the poor, not a poor tax. There's a semantical difference there.
Yes, the tax is not regressive. Yes, poor people can quit smoking if the tax prices them out, but there are a lot of things that poor people can give up as taxes are raised on various goods.
Raising non-regressive taxes hurts the poor.
But we need to look at the assault on liberty that this tax brings about. NY is trying to stop people from engaging in an activity that can be dangerous to one's health should you become a lifelong smoker. But should it be the government's responsibility to price us out from goods that can damage our health? This is the basic philosophical question here, and I'm in the Libertarian category. I don't think that government can effectively enforce good habits.
This is Sarah Jessica Parker's fault. Boo SJP!
This is good. Smoking is a total waste of money to begin with + your clothes stink of cigarette smoke forever no matter how many times you wash it.
This is good. Smoking is a total waste of money to begin with + your clothes stink of cigarette smoke forever no matter how many times you wash it.
Fast food and fried food is a total waste of money, too. Your belly gets bigger and you'll pay more in medical bills.
I love cigarettes! But I quit years ago. I think this increase is just plain pathetic. They're really trying to balance their budget. It doesn't have anything to do with being concerned about smokers' health.
I predict:
in 10 years one pack of smokes will cost $15 in nyc.
Fast food and fried food is a total waste of money, too. Your belly gets bigger and you'll pay more in medical bills.
Poor analogy. Food, whether its fast, fried, or healthy, provides energy that your body needs to function. What does smoking provide, other than a way for the insecure and orally fixated to look cool?
And you can enjoy fast and fried food in moderation, can't say the same for cancer sticks.
Poor analogy. Food, whether its fast, fried, or healthy, provides energy that your body needs to function. What does smoking provide, other than a way for the insecure and orally fixated to look cool?
The amount of calories in fast food is excessive and gluttonous. It's hardly the source for nutrition, though it's become a place of sustenance for one too many people here.
But if you want to play this game, it all comes back to drugs and alcohol. How did alcohol prohibition work out? How is our drug war working out for us?
And you can enjoy fast and fried food in moderation, can't say the same for cancer sticks.
I'm not sure about that claim.
sorry Bottomless Chips, ny doesn't care about your health. it cares about wasting tax dollars on treating stupid-ass smokers like you when you end up at the hospital. i shouldn't have to pay to make you (& the other morons) better, but i do. my tax dollars are being wasted on you smokers.
maybe if paying a lot of $ will make you stop, we won't have to keep wasting $ on all you idiots when you get sick. then hopefully there will be less clowns standing outside the doors of my office when i try to go to lunch.
Zodak,
The proponents of the tax hike use public health as the justification.
And paying for the free health care of smokers is much smaller in the whole entitlement scheme. Illnesses from obesity (diabetes, various heart condition, joint problems, hypertension) are more costly.
But I don't believe in socialized health care, anyway, so...
cigarettes are expensive everywhere, even tobacco road. guess that means more places will be selling loosies.
This is ridiculous. Why doesn't the government just go ahead and make smoking and the distribution of tobaco products illegal?
Aside from the Prohibition example as MFer noted, it's because the tobacco lobby, tobacco companies and politicians from tobacco states are too entrenched and too powerful.
Aside from the Prohibition example as MFer noted, it's because the tobacco lobby, tobacco companies and politicians from tobacco states are too entrenched and too powerful.
That's a liberal war cry. There's a lobby for everything in this country. Even obscure sectors spend millions on lobbying efforts.
I think you're right, though, it is more about the failure of the prohibition of alcohol.
However, speaking about the lobbying, that's more of a concern as it leads to corporatism which is quite scary. The military industrial complex makes out the best in our current arrangement.
dude, that Bureau of Made Up Shit puts out a lot press releases these days
This is stupid. Now the NY State government will be counting on this tax revenue in their budget. Meanwhile people will start getting their smokes outside the jurisdiction of the NY tax authority (neighboring states, Indian reservations, or just having out-of-state friends or relatives ship us cartons from stats where the cost is a fraction of what it is here). I'm still going to smoke, NY is just going to lose the tax revenue from it now, and since they'll be counting on it, they'll be forced to raise taxes on other goods and services to make up for it. Good game, lawmakers! It's not just smokers that are going to suffer because of this.
I see that a lot of folks here would probably be better off living in California.
Gotta love them nanny-states..
Cigarettes are just natural selection. Let the weak minded kill themselves..who cares if they pay out the ass for it?
well, again, some top-notch analysis from the bored computer-jockeys and receptionists of the big apple. how bout this? rich people smoke, too. hell, extremely intelligent physicists smoke, too. you know how i know this? because i am one. that's right, i'm a genius scientist who makes six figures just by reading some of my thoughts to audiences of less-gifted nerds. so listen up cause this shit's for free. number one: get out of your fucking cubicle. second: get in touch with america. go drive around virginia and north carolina and think to yourself, well shit, i better start eating some more peanuts and soy right-fucking-now, because these tobacco farmers aren't going to just stop growing tobacco and start growing jack-fucking-shit. you know what this tax money is going towards? it will be allocated to the department in charge of procuring bundles and bundles of red tape. and prostitutes. prostitutes and 20-year-old scotch and big fucking cigars and self-satisfied, million-dollar grins. oh, and towards cleaning up all the trans-fat-ladden shits i plan on layin down all over the steps of city hall.