Folks, this is a microcosm of liberalism. This brilliant mayor decided that he had a problem with the budget. The deficit was too big. He needed to do some things to close the deficit. So he raised taxes on cigarettes, through the roof, $7 a carton! This same mayor then, after raising taxes on cigarettes for his altruistic purpose of closing budget deficits and financing health programs for children, then bans the product from use! This is brilliant, isn't it? You raise taxes on a product, then tell people that they after buy the product, they won't be allowed to use it. Now, cigarette sales are down by 50% in the city, which should mean that the sales tax revenue would be down, despite this massive increase. But in New York, nothing works as it should. Even though the volume is down in half, because the tax increase is so amazingly high, revenues are still up, which means that the poor who smoke and are addicted have really been screwed here. They raise taxes so much that even cutting the volume in half still results in a revenue increase! It's amazing. PUFFER TAX SLASHES CITY CIG SALES IN HALF |
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