Doc Manhattan
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- May 26, 2008
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Starting today, New York almost doubles its cigarette tax to a stunning $2.75 per pack. With NYC's municipal cigarette tax, that comes to $4.25 rendered unto Caesar--a more than 100% markup.
I have no love for cigarettes, save the occasional Turkish Oval in a briar filter, but this is ridiculous, and the injury trickles down to the pipe smoker. Certainly, it turns the screws on dedicated, small tobacconists; regular one-pack sales are their meat-and-potatoes. Further down the line, it's not hard to imagine a crackdown on any kind of tobacco-by-mail purchase, to prevent arbitrage. Given the history of government meddling in "vice," I can certainly see perfectly legal pipe tobacco shipments getting caught in some wide net of "tax enforcement." Not to mention that cigarettes are a kind of bellwether for other so-called "sin taxes" and regulations. I can just hear Mayor Bloomberg standing in front of the press lectern, smirking as he says, "We are pleased to finally close the loophole that allowed loose tobacco to be sold at a far lower tax rate." That thought makes my teeth itch.
I have no love for cigarettes, save the occasional Turkish Oval in a briar filter, but this is ridiculous, and the injury trickles down to the pipe smoker. Certainly, it turns the screws on dedicated, small tobacconists; regular one-pack sales are their meat-and-potatoes. Further down the line, it's not hard to imagine a crackdown on any kind of tobacco-by-mail purchase, to prevent arbitrage. Given the history of government meddling in "vice," I can certainly see perfectly legal pipe tobacco shipments getting caught in some wide net of "tax enforcement." Not to mention that cigarettes are a kind of bellwether for other so-called "sin taxes" and regulations. I can just hear Mayor Bloomberg standing in front of the press lectern, smirking as he says, "We are pleased to finally close the loophole that allowed loose tobacco to be sold at a far lower tax rate." That thought makes my teeth itch.