Stiff Tobacco Taxes Inspire Flourishing Black Market in Cigarettes

CAL-TAX DIGEST ^ | June 2001 | James P. Sweeney

[Argus]

Do the counterfeit tax stamps have Rob Reiner's picture on them?

[Jonathon Spectre]

Welcome to the War on (Some) Drugs v2.0.

[Commander8]

It's going to be like Moonshiners vs Revenooers all over again.

[AzJP]

I sure have seen an increase in folks rolling their own (legal tobacco) and I'm half way between Nevada and Mexico!
rp

[Bonaparte]

"The combined loss, state officials say, is well in excess of $200 million a year."

Not enough. Gotta get the loss up to a billion. Then they'll have no choice but to either repeal the tax increases to stimulate sales/revenue or lose even more money in fruitless enforcement efforts.

Of course, the legislature is goofy enough to make smoking completely illegal in California, even in one's own home. I wouldn't put it past them for one a minute.

[Leisler]

""Retailers would then be required to obtain their tobacco product from licensed distributors," and inventories could be traced, Mr. Wesson explained. "

This is great. They never learn. The russian mob took over a bunch of gas stations. At the time each gas station retailer was responsible for collecting the governments taxes on gas and turning it over to the mob, I mean the government. Anyways they'd get some slob right off the Aeoflot and give him a 24/7 job pumbing gas and by the way sign these papers. After a few years the feds would arrest the slob for not turning over 100's of thousands of dollars in taxes. The real owners pocketed it. So the feds go wholesale and make the gas distributers collect from the retail guys. What does the russians do? Throw a party, no more nickle and dime stuff. Now they pocket tens of millions.( Slob promoted to President of Distribution) Same will happen to ciggaretts.

[Leisler]

In England people roll their own, and then go to pubs and sell them. Not bad, all cash and a draft every now and then.

[theoriginalgriff]

alltogether now: let's bring out this four sylable word and learn how to say it right.....pro hi bi tion. One man's obstacle is another man's opportunity.

[Max McGarrity]

Do the counterfeit tax stamps have Rob Reiner's picture on them?

Now, that'd be enough to make a whole lot of folks quit!

[Newbomb Turk]

The next step is to tax them right at the manufacture point thus bypassing the abality of smuglers to profit while maintaining the governments monopoly on screwing smokers.

[FastCoyote]

As I've pointed out before, any Conservative smoker who flaunts the California tax and orders over the Internet is - a libertine scofflaw who should do jail time!! Bwahaha

Isn't it great when libertarians get to tell conservatives "I told you so!"

[uncbob]

Well the WOD hasn't created enough criminals now the smokers are next

[uncbob]

the governments monopoly on screwing smokers.

Take a cue from the AIDS lobby

ORGANIZE

[Leisler]

Why then you don't suppose that gents will just buy direct from the farmer, if not become the farmer, and then jest get your self a couple of old rolling machines and off you go. The higher the tax, the higher the profit, the more people will do it, the more cops, that eat up the taxes and well....you know the drill.

[thegreatbeast]

Pray for me as I just quit 8 weeks ago and it seems to be getting tougher, if you can figure that out. (I can't.) But I tell you the best thing the cigarette companies could do is quit selling domestically. After about 2 weeks of blood flowing in the streets, the feds would be giving cigarettes away free to anyone who wanted them. Seriously.

[SheLion]

Max, you did the Puff_List, but I wasn't on it. I found this by accident.

[SheLion]

Why then you don't suppose that gents will just buy direct from the farmer, if not become the farmer, and then jest get your self a couple of old rolling machines and off you go. The higher the tax, the higher the profit, the more people will do it, the more cops, that eat up the taxes and well....you know the drill.

Well, it's the American way to shop cheap. Why buy from a drug store when you have Wal-Mart. Since when did shopping cheap make us criminals.

[Great Dane]

Serves them right.

[Chu Gary]

"The next step is to tax them right at the manufacture point thus bypassing the abality of smuglers to profit while maintaining the governments monopoly on screwing smokers."

They are taxed at the point of manufacture; that has been the practice for at least 30 years, but those are the taxes levied by the Federal government. The Mfg plant has no way of knowing in advance what state their product will end up in, so they can't collect state taxes. Just wouldn't work.