So, I have outlined the idea of the society becoming rusty in a few forms. In this post I will talk about one of them. Cigarette tax. I am a smoker. Washington State has the second highest cigarette tax following Rhode Island. Currently at the rate of $3.025 per a single pack of 20 cigarettes. Of that $3.025, $.51.6 is used for a State education fund. The rest ($2.509) is used for general State funding which supports most of the State Services. In fiscal year 2009 cigarette taxes generated $392.4 million dollars and that was before the $1 increase in May of 2010. So if looking at our comunity right now with unemployment rates and poor paying jobs that are tough to find (a rusty comunity), where would that leave us without our smokers. I get harassed and put down by people on the street corners now. As if not smoking indoors wasn't good enough for them. What would happen if my fellow smokers and I all quit at once. State funding takes an over 4 million dollar hit. Where would they tax it then? Food, alcohol, or maybe a "fat tax"? I think without the smokers and there outrageous taxation without representation Washington State would rust through until someone else got taxed heavy. Basically the State would shut down like Minnisota did. So next time you see a smoker you may want to say thanks for your tax contribution to the State instead of imposing on thier rights.
http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/CigarTax/CigaretteTax.pdf
Hi Conrad,
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog, it is nice with a different point of view that we should say thanks to the smokers. I think you have a great sense of humor.
I am just not sure whether you like to pay for your cigarettes because you are making a contribution to the society by paying high taxes or if you just find it way to expensive. If you like to make contribution to the society you can always pay more in taxes I guess? (There is no maximum I believe). In Denmark, where I come from we pay 40 – 70 % of our income in taxes depending on your salary and then we pay 25% in state tax (VAT) when we are shopping. Are you fighting for higher overall taxes?
Mette
As a fellow smoker I totally got a kick out of your post! It would make quite the impact if we were all to quit at once. The stats were very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI am an act smoker, but I must admit your argument with compelling. Indeed, the taxes collected on cigarettes and other “sin” products, brings in a great deal of revenue for our state. Now I smoked most of my life, but I'm happy to be quit from that habit. but I don't feel comfortable in putting people down for smoking. Maybe that's because, quite simply, I know how difficult it is to quit.
ReplyDeleteBut I also find Mette's comment intriguing–regarding how much we would be willing to pay for taxes. I have to be honest, I would be very willing what people in Denmark pay for taxes if I had more of substantial protections as a citizen, including health care, retirement, unemployment and so on. under that system, however, I wonder how smoking would be viewed?? Does smoking come under the sales tax?
The statistics say a lot. I was a smoker until about 3 months ago. I bought an e-cigarette and now I steam instead of smoke. One of the reasons I quit was because of the cost but also because I wanted to give the alternative a try. I appreciated your perspective on the contributions that smokers make to the state. Do you think it'll be going up again anytime soon? Or do you think tax increases on cigarettes have reached its' peak?
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your feed back! Mette- I don't like paying all of those taxes for my cigarettes. I am not opposed to paying taxes for our state and to go towards our state but I think how it is so icolated is unfair. I'm fighting for taxes to be spread equally to our citizens, maybe higher for those who are rich in the society. Jennifer- Thanks for the support! Dr. McCarthy- Thanks to not being the anti-tobacco self superhero! I agree with you and Mette about being willing to pay taxes for additional benifits from the State. I would. I understand the reasoning for the "sin" taxes you meantioned, but I think where it is at now is a little extreme compared to maybe those how buy a new Ferrari and write it off as a business expense for a company car and get a tax cut. Smoking falls under sales and state tax. Mona- I tried the e-cigarette, and it didn't work for me. It just made me want to smoke more. I'm sure the tax will raise again. There is no law governing the cap for cigarette tax so it's just a matter of time.
ReplyDelete