No better than armed robbers!
Update - it's even worse!
This time they want to raise the CT cigarette tax another
Call Governor Rell
Tell her NOT to listen to whoever it is that's feeding her bad data!
Tel: 860-566-4840
Toll-Free: 800-406-1527
Connecticut consumers already pay the 3rd highest in the nation - but frankly this has nothing to do with smoking.
Consider this: 76% of all convenience store purchases include some tobacco product.
Over 75% of all the cigarettes sold in the country are sold by small retailers employing under 12 people total.
We lose over 27.00 in Connecticut revenue for every carton brought in illegally.
Over 30% of the cigarettes consumed in CT were not purchased here NOW!
Another tax increase will only hurt our retailers and our state budget even more.
Connecticut receives over 4.00 per-carton from the Master Settlement.
As bootleg (out of state) cigarette sales increase we cost ourselves both that plus the sales tax
of over 3.00 per carton; not to mention the 20.00 CT cigarette tax that's already in place.
ACR, ouch! Talk about a double whammy! First Rell admits she's going to raise taxes, and then she mentions bumping up the cigarette tax! You were the first person I thought of when I heard that.
ReplyDeleteSo, you think she's gonna not run for another term? I think it's interesting that McKinney suddenly decided to announce he wasn't going for Jim Himes's seat after all...you think there's a deal afoot?
I'm more concerned that someone's selling my Governor a whole lot of bad data as I'm maybe more aware than others that a cigarette hike won't produce the revenues she's being told it will.
ReplyDeleteQuite the contrary; contraband will go through the roof and our total tobacco revenue stream will actually decline just like our revenues did when the diesel fuel tax was raised beyond that tipping point.
I can't deny that it'll probably cause more untaxed cigarettes to flow in. Then the state will have to step up their detection and punishment for smuggling them in. Maybe we'll make more money on fines than what we'll lose in sales, I dunno.
ReplyDeleteI think someone needs to step up and start talking about legalizing pot. Besides Ken Krayeske, I mean. Can you imagine the tax revenues we're forgoing because of our ridiculously out-dated drug laws?