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| Businesses Rally Against Cigarette Tax Hike |
By:
olga |
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| The author of this article is:
cigarettes-blog[dot]com
buy-euro-cigarettes[dot]com
discount-euro-cigarettes[dot]com
Kentucky's General Assembly went into session today knowing it has to come up with about 400-million dollars in new money or budget cuts. Governor Steve Beshear proposes raising Kentucky's cigarette tax by 70-cents a pack. He's facing some serious opposition in the legislature and from some local business owners.
Local 12's Joe Webb shares a grassroots effort to snuff out a higher cigarette tax.
Retail tobacco dealers, near the state line, don't want to see this tax hike. Right now, Kentucky's cigarette tax is about 70 cents a pack below Indiana's and 95 cents a pack below Ohio's. That's a distinct advantage they're afraid may soon go up in smoke. Whitney Fischer will graduate this spring with a finance degree from Xavier. She's already done the math on what a 70 cent per pack tax hike might do to her family's business.
Whitney Fischer, One Stop Liquor and Tobacco: "I believe it would decrease our business at least 20%. 80% of our customers come from Ohio to get their cigarettes here, because they're that much cheaper."
A quick survey of Northern Kentucky tobacco shop parking lots shows a lot of interstate customers.
"We've had people come from Columbus, Ohio. Drive here, buy ten cartons of cigarettes one month and come back the next month and buy another ten cartons of cigarettes."
Fischer is doing more than just griping to the media. She's written a letter to Governor Beshear, who she says she voted for, and is organizing a grassroot fight against raising the cigarette tax. The idea has support. Covington Commissioner Jerry Stricker is asking his city to pass a resolution in favor of the hike.
Jerry Stricker, Covington City Commissioner: "For several reasons. First, in the short run it would raise some revenue for the state and we desperately need some revenue or we're going to have to cut some vital services. Secondly, in the long run it's proven that if you raise taxes less people smoke and you'll save money in the long run."
Supposedly on health care costs. best estimates are a 70-cent hike would raised about 81-million this fiscal year...a fraction of the projected state shortfall. Fischer says don't balance the books on my back.
"Being a manager at a tobacco retail store, I have to look out for my employees, my business and my customers."
Kentucky's current 30-cent per pack tax ranks 47th out of the 50 states. Raising it 70 cents to one-dollar a pack would put Kentucky right in the middle. New Jersey is number one with a tax of $2.571/2 per pack. Missouri is number 50 at 17 cents a pack. The last time Kentucky raised the cigarette tax was in 2005. It went from 27 cents to 30 cents. |
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