I confess, I've been a smoker for the better part of 50 years. During my time in the service in the late 60's I thought I'd died and gone to heaven with the overseas price of Marlboros being $1.00 a carton. Returning stateside in 1970 and re-encountering real world prices around 40 cents/pack I thought WTH, is ALL this taxes??? Turns out it wasn't but, close enough. I remember telling myself if they ever hit 50 cents/pack I'd quit before paying that much! The justification for continuing to smoke after 50 cents a pack was by the carton they were STILL under 50 cents a pack at ~$4.50. Once Marlboros went over $5/carton I said oh what the hell. BTW, remember when cigarette machines were everywhere???
Anyhow, the government's actions towards taxing SOUTHERN tobacco is nothing short of despicable BUT I've been more or less a proponent of using taxes to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, incentives for home ownership for example, so I really can't squeal too loudly about ciggie taxes. On the other hand, why don't we have greater tax incentives for personal savings in this country??? There's probably a story there somewhere...
Anyway, smoking is a NASTY habit(addiction?) to be sure and I didn't need a surgeon general telling me it probably wouldn't do me any good in the long run. I can't get out to my mail box and back without becoming winded. We make our choices and suffer any consequences; such is life...
Still, seems to me there should be no way to LEGITIMATELY get around something as plain as “NO TAX OR DUTY...”
At least not with a straight face.
What’s to stop Virginia from striking back and say they are imposing a “use tax” on oranges?