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I've always had this question. It seems like whenever the state/local/federal governments are faced with a gaping hole of a deficit, the first thing to go up is the cigarette tax. It is now over 6 bucks a pack. Maybe more? Should governments put this continuous pressure on smokers? Your thoughts?
What isn't too kosher for me is the government's assertion that substantially raising the tax is "encouraging smokers to quit." I'm seeing things in a not so altruistic manner. They are trying to make money off of what is basically an addiction. I'd wish they'd just be honest and say that rather than saying it's for the smoker's good.
Agreed. If we allow the Godvernment to decide that smokers cost more and thus should pay more taxes we should definitely impose severe taxation on weight. Obesity is associated with so many costly diseases that it is a no-brainer for the actual No-Brainers in Washington. They pick on every other group, what makes fat people special? Maybe income tax percentage should be decided by percentage of body fat. *The intellectual elites rub their chins with a sinister grin...*
I've always had this question. It seems like whenever the state/local/federal governments are faced with a gaping hole of a deficit, the first thing to go up is the cigarette tax. It is now over 6 bucks a pack. Maybe more? Should governments put this continuous pressure on smokers? Your thoughts?
What isn't too kosher for me is the government's assertion that substantially raising the tax is "encouraging smokers to quit." I'm seeing things in a not so altruistic manner. They are trying to make money off of what is basically an addiction. I'd wish they'd just be honest and say that rather than saying it's for the smoker's good.
what it seems to be doing is discouraging young people to quit and yes, some of those addicted as well. So adding more tax may just backfire plus where do we draw the damn line? tax cigarettes, tax booze, tax soda, make fast food restaurants discontinue using trans fats, etc. As I have said before pretty soon there will be additional tax on meat, cheese and dairy products that are not low fat. But wait for the next generation when we are told we are not getting enough fat, so dairies will be required to put some of that fat back into their products and fat will replace sugar. Of course before that can happen we need to put a tax on foods filled with sugar like cold cereal.
Are photo-speed radars for enforcement or for revenue generation? Most people will agree that it's a backdoor revenue generator.
I view cigarette taxes in the same fashion (and i'm not even a smoker). Why? Because when the populace is largely smoke-free, I don't think officials will look at it as "mission accomplished." I think they'll be looking at it as "oh sh*t, that revenue source has dried up, what are we going to do now?"
Taxing smokes is not good for cover gaps the goverment starts to depend on the money they get from it and when people quit it they see revnue decline. So they have no choice but keep rasiing taxes. Same will happen if they tax the fat people soda or anything else.
I've always had this question. It seems like whenever the state/local/federal governments are faced with a gaping hole of a deficit, the first thing to go up is the cigarette tax. It is now over 6 bucks a pack. Maybe more? Should governments put this continuous pressure on smokers? Your thoughts?
What isn't too kosher for me is the government's assertion that substantially raising the tax is "encouraging smokers to quit." I'm seeing things in a not so altruistic manner. They are trying to make money off of what is basically an addiction. I'd wish they'd just be honest and say that rather than saying it's for the smoker's good.
Yes but it's going to get to the point where they actually are going to quit because they can't afford them any more and then government is going to have to figure out something else to tax to make up for all the tax revenue they're not getting any more from smokers who finally quit.
I'm a smoker, and they can't lean on me hard enough.
feel free to send me 20 bucks for every pack you buy.
consider it leaning.
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