Sixty-one percent of cigarettes sold in New York are smuggled in from lower tax states, the highest rate in the nation, according to a report today by the Tax Foundation.
The fiscally conservative group based in Washington D.C., said because New York has the highest cigarette taxes, it is leading the nation in black market trafficking between states. The group said higher cigarette taxes across the nation are leading to more illegal tobacco sales.
New York’s cigarette tax is $4.35 a pack, making the average cost of a pack of cigarettes more than $11 a pack—tops in the nation. New York City puts an additional $1.50 a-pack tax on smokes.
“Public policies often have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits,” says Tax Foundation economist Scott Drenkard in a statement. “Dramatic increases in state cigarette taxes have yielded additional revenue for priorities like public health, but have also fueled the rise of organized crime and law enforcement corruption.”
The data was collected by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, which used 2011 statistics from each state to determine smuggling rates.
1 Comment
Some of these tax rates are ridiculous, whatever happened to the pursuit of happiness and having the freedom to choose things even if they aren’t good for me.
My personal opinion is that once something is taxed more than 50% of its value that people should do whatever they want because it may be a law but it is most assuredly not just.
I do many things that aren’t good for me because I choose too, I enjoy them and have accepted that I would rather enjoy my life than try and live forever. The world some of these states are trying to enforce seem pretty lame to me anyhow and wouldn’t be much fun to live in anyway.
My favorite argument is the health care costs. When did this country become more worried about who is paying for who’s health care than every mans freedom? What’s funny is the healthcare logic can be applied to just about anything you do to infringe on personal freedoms.
Truly though I feel everyone is getting what they deserve, the fact that the tax rate got that high to begin with tells me we are all to stupid to remain free for long.