Posted on 09/22/2007 4:19:26 PM PDT by SheLion
The excuse this time is to help pay for a huge expansion of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Expanding the SCHIP program is unwise, not least as another step on the road to government-run health care.
Raising taxes to pay for more spending generally is a case of the old adage that two wrongs don't make a right. But turning to a tobacco tax hike is discriminatory and thus especially unsavory.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Now, if people can't afford this and quit or go elsewhere for cigarettes, where will Congress get the money they need????
Every President wants to be like President Reagan, however
"The taxing power...must not be used to regulate the economy or bring about social change."
Ronald Reagan - 1981
“President Bush and Congress intend to raise the taxes”
President Bush wants to do no such thing.
As for the Dummies in Congress — they $1/pack is just the first of an infinite number of taxes they’d impose in a second if allowed to do so.
Am I thinking of something completely wrong, but was there something set forth in the Constitution early on stating that you can’t tax income?
“President Bush and Congress intend to raise the taxes”
President Bush wants to do no such thing.
As for the Dummies in Congress — the $1/pack is just the first of an infinite number of taxes they’d impose in a second if allowed to do so.
...so 1.5 TRILLION dollars isn’t enough?????
Didn’t Bush say he was gonna veto this?
Sorry. I miss-spoke.
No you are not wrong. Also when the 16th Amendment was being debated the idea was to have a 10% cap in the amendment itself. The cap wasn’t put in because at the time the thought was that if the amendment said 10% then the income tax would eventually get to the exorbitantly high number of 10% because it would be allowed.
One can only hope..................
The slippery slope continues (or boiling the frog), take your pick.
President Bush does not support the tax increase or the proposed expansion of SCHIP. He stated during his presser Thursday that he would veto a bill on these issues.
It’s idiots like this that are causing havoc here in “The EMPIRE” (NY)! More and more of us smokers have said “Screw it” and have headed for the Reservations to buy our Tobacco. In order to match what is paid in Tobacco taxes, if all smokers quit today, Fed Income tax rates would have to go up to about 60% .. and for the RICH .. 100%!! Even tho they’d only be able to do that ONCE.
Maine just figured out that last year it lost $120,000,000 that is one hundred twenty million dollars (for those of you in Rio Linda ). They lost this money due to the heavy tax that they put on smokers in Maine. What is the answer to those lost revenues? Why, let’s add another dollar on the already $2 per PACK on the smokers. What do you think the end result be?
1-lots of money for gov
2-even more reduction in state income from tobacco
I think 2 is the wise answer.
BTW..the answer to my tag line is 64 percent.
Without a doubt!
Oh yea........................
I'm glad to hear it. Thank you.
Admittedly, a reasonable case can be made that those who are thouroughly addicted to nicotine will pay whatever price is demanded, in order to get their fix--even if that means cutting back on necessities, such as food. (Of course, it would be very difficult to present this as a positive development.)
At the other end of the spectrum, some of those who are not yet addicted to nicotine (and who are young, and without much extra money) might be discouraged by the higher price from experimenting with cigarettes. This would, undoubtedly, be a good thing. And if Democrats wish to argue that an additional federal tax should be imposed upon cigarettes in order to achieve this desired social end, well, that is a discussion worth having.
But it would be good to be candid about the intent--and not pretend that we live in some fantasy world in which a tax increase has no impact whatsoever on overall purchases of the product that is subject to the extra tax.
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