Posted on 01/21/2013 7:41:12 AM PST by algernon_garnock
With all the nonsense that’s been going on in the Empire State of late – especially the Governor’s successful gun rantings - I’d begun to worry that New York was doomed for mediocrity. But for better or worse, you just can’t keep the government of this state down. If we can’t lead in freedom, prosperity or employment, we can at least be the capital of piracy. (Cigarette smuggling piracy, that is.)
The Midland, Mich.-based Mackinac Center has released smuggling reports in 2006 and 2009, in addition to its most recent report covering 2011. In 2006, the Mackinac Center estimated that New York had the fifth highest smuggling rate in the country as 35.81%. In 2008, New York’s state excise tax on cigarettes nearly doubled, going from $1.50 to $2.75 per pack. In the Mackinac Center’s 2009 report, New York rose to number two on the list, with a smuggling rate of 47.35%. State excise taxes rose again in 2010, going from $2.75 to the state’s current $4.35. Not surprisingly, the 190% increase in state excise taxes from 2006 through 2011 catapulted New York to its title as the most smuggled state.
But this still leaves a pressing question. Where are all of these smokes coming from? It’s not as if Al Gore’s global warming has suddenly turned New York into a great place to grow tobacco. According to another analysis, the largest (illegal) exporter of cigarettes to the Big Apple was New Hampshire. How could that happen?
New Hampshire had the highest share of its cigarettes — 26.8 percent — smuggled out of the state. The state cut its tax rate in 2011 by 10 cents to $1.68, still slightly higher than the national average. But it is surrounded by states with much higher tax rates. In Massachusetts, for example, the tax was $2.51 per pack.
If it was easier to get large quantities of cigarettes from a place like Tennessee to New York, that’s where they would be coming from. (You can find Marlboros there for under five bucks a pack today, all taxes included.) But New Hampshire is closer, so their retailers reap the benefits. Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo’s state continues to bleed out cash, thinking that just one more tax hike will finally make the difference and put us back in the black.
Let us know how that works out, Andy.
Why doesn’t NYC just tax the hell out of SNAP, WICs, EBT, TANF, Section 8 and EITC? Lotsa money there!
And based on that, with a sales organization on the street the unregistered gun sales in NY will make the Mafia one heck of a tidy profit. Perhaps Cuomo is making financial decisions not political ones after all.
When I lived in NC, I used to drive by JR discount center in Selma. They use to sell cigarettes wholesale. (Looks like they only do cigars now) The parking lot was usually overflowing with car from NY and NJ.
In the 8 miles from my Virginia home to the VA/Maryland state line there are no less that 10 “discount” cigarette stores (plus convenience stores that also advertise cheap prices) and on any given day the out of state plates in those lots out number the VA plates. I also live a direct 6 hours south of NYC.
No problem uncle Vennie works on the docks in Chicago only $10.00 a carton.
Gee, in a state with Mafia AND Indians?? Whoda thunkit??
Only fools and the middle class pay taxes.
The government makes more “profit” on cigarettes than the cigarette companies.
Phil Mickelson pays almost 65% of his entire income in taxes.
A major hub is Akwesasne, where cigarettes are produced tax-free. They are readily available in Toronto for less than $2 a pack. Excise taxes here are $4/pack.
I had a lady from NY here looking at houses a few years ago(I’m a Realtor)and when she found out cigs were $4.00 a pack she asked me to pull over at a store. She bought 10 cartons of Salems. She said they were $10.00 in NY and that was 5 years ago.
The locals here buy cigs and gas at Indian stores. Now & then they get raided by NYS, but they’re back in business quickly. Puts a differentight on the so-called smuggling statistics.
Always Remember; “Anyone who gets rich in public service is a crook” Harry S. Truman
This Indian site is still mailing out cigarettes.
http://www.senecacigarettes.com/tobacco/
How can they get away with this?
Is it safe to order from them?
(Grandfather needs place to get cheaper cigarettes)
While I do not doubt the basic thrust of this story, and I applaud anyone that can screw any level of government out of “their” tax money, I have one question:
HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY KNOW THIS?
How can anyone know how many people ARE NOT paying taxes on cigarettes or anything else? How can they know, to one hundredth of a percent, how many people are doing something illegal? If it were possible to know this information, the government would be arresting and jailing those involved. And there would not BE “70% of taxes not paid.”
Since it is not possible to actually know this information, this whole story is a LIE. It is PROPAGANDA, disseminated for the sole purpose of justifying more police power, more police snooping, more government. It is to convince the low-information voters that the government is “looking out for” them. That the government needs more power, more authority, more taxes, to chase down these rotten smugglers, and make them pay “their fair share.”
Crap!
rant off
I am sure organized crime has a thriving black market in bootleg cigarettes. Too bad politicians are ignorant of history. When the great social experiment of Prohibition was enacted to save people from themselves organized crime thrived providing people the beer and alcohol they wanted.
It’s actually not that tough, cigarette packs have tax stamps on them. Have a study raid public trash cans in an area, see what percentage of the packs have NY stamps in each subsection, mean average. Also the IRS has done a lot of studies on the effect of tax rates on the amount of effort and percentage of people that will try to avoid that tax, so there’s baseline data they can use right there.
As for arresting and jailing, how? This is NY, it’s in a densely part of the country with a lot of travel between states. Live in New Hampshire and work in New York, talk to your smoking co-workers and bring a couple cartons in your brief case periodically. Or people who live there can just save their buying until the weekend when they’re going to be heading to New Jersey. They can bust mobsters smuggling truckloads in, but the individuals bringing in a couple of cartons are nearly impossible to catch... until you see the empties in a sidewalk trashcan.
I believe they can do this since they are exempt with their resevation status. Most of the Indian sites are legit and safe to deal with. They can sell for less but I believe most states now require them to add your state’s (Texas?) sales tax in with your purchase. You can also add about $20 for shipping too. They only ship UPS and require an adult signature.
You may want to look at Lil Brown as well to compare prices: www.lilbrown.com
It’s also an Indian reservation site, and they do tack on state sales taxes, but the half dozen times I’ve ordered cigars from them over the last 5 years they’ve been very helpful, and their prices are less from what I’ve found elswhere.
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