Question about cigarrette tax?

Question

I live in the Chicagoland area. We already have one of the highest if not the highest taxes on cigarrettes in the country. They are proposing another $1 raise in the tax. I think we already pay like 3x the amount of money in taxes as the product costs. I know people don't like smokers but the government shouldn't keep going after smokers because they can't properly manage their money. Aren't there laws about unfair taxes? Wouldn't all these taxes on ciggarrettes violate this law as every 6 months they are propsoing to raise the taxes another dollar.

Should have known I would get answers from a bunch of holier than though people. There are laws about fair taxes and this clearly violates them reguardless of how much you dislike smokers it's wrong. The government should start taxing all these fat people for eating fastfood as that costs healthcare money.

All of you who are against smokers and go along with this stuff, realize that this type of taxing sets a president for what your states can do. If you allow the government to do it to tobacco now don't complain down the road when they start doing it to your food, medicine, cars, etc.

Driving to Indiana for ciggarettes is stupid. With gas prices as high as they are your not only wasting your time your also spending more money on gas than you would just buying ciggarettes down at the corner, plus your wasting your time to drive to Indiana. As for sin taxes, alcohol taxes don't get raised 3 times a year like ciggarrette taxes do.

Answer 1

i used to live in the chicagoland area too. cook county is ridiculous! i know how you are feeling. there has got to be a law for it but the problem is not enough people would fight it. just like they get rid of the smoking in restaurants, they wanna get rid of smoking as much as they can or just make tons of money off of us. i would go to like one of those free consultation attorneys and ask them advice. but illinois sucks they really just want your money and will find any reason to take it from you.

Answer 2

As a smoker I agree with you that the tax is unfair. I wonder what all the soda pop drinkers would do if they put a tax on soda pop because it is a major factor, in making kids fat. Or fast food places for the same reason. I have never go to the statium that I helped to fund because I can not smoke their. I stopped going to restarants for the same reason. There is a restaurant at the corner of my street that put a banner on the front of it that went the entire width of the building right after the Ohio ban went into effect. It said NON SMOKERS WHERE ARE YOU NOW.

I feel that if owned a bar or restaurant and wanted to allow smokingn then I should have that right. Yes there are alot of holier then thou people out there. When I wrote to my state senator about my thoughts he responded that it would help to decrease the under age smokers. WOW and I thought that arresting or fining the sellers of tobacco products to the underage population was the answer. Guess I was wrong again. By the way I am 58 years old and have smoked since I was 14, So when I die at an early age, You non - smokers will not have to foot the bill for my medical costs but you will also get more money put into the Social Security Fund because I will not have used up share.
When I started smoking the non smoker was the rare person. You could smoke on airplanes, in grocery stores etc and did not have to stand out in the weather to have a smoke. Come on people wise up. If they get all of us to quit then they are going after your precious pop, wine, milk, or whatever they want because it will cause (fill in what ever you want here)
Historically I think there was a tea party in Boston because of unfair taxes and then a war that followed. Might be wrong. I was also amazed at the number of new voting age kids that were shocked that Ohio's law passed. Of course when I asked if they voted they said no.

That's all ok though because as soon as I am to poor to buy cigs I am going on Welfare. Then when I don't have to buy food anymore because of food stamps or what ever they use now I will then once again be able to buy cigs compliments in a way of the govt.

You might want to ask if I am ticked off over this whole thing. No. I am not. I just see some body has jumped on the bandwagon and come out against smokers. This of course might lead to them getting more votes in the next election. Of course if we go back to the sellers of smokes that sell to minors WITHOUT CHECKING ID'S then those fines could help support the programs that govt wants. By the way since the kids buy what they want it anyway increased prices are not going to stop them from smoking. I could go on but I won't so in closing, Yes the cigarette tax is unfair, No it is not going to stop the kids from buying cigs. (enforcing the law will), and yes to change the tax you must write to your law makers, and all of the smokers must go out and vote.

I think a fairer tax that would raise more money would be a penny per gallon tax on all liquids consumed in this country, including gas, water, pop, beer, wine, liquor, etc. This would be accross the board, But I would lay odds that would get a lot of complaining from everyone. I think that the revenues gained from such a penny tax would be a lot more then the 1.00 tax on cigs.

Answer 3

The tax is intended to make some people stop smoking. The higher the price, the fewer smokers there are. It's called a "Punative Tax." It's meant to punish smokers for smoking.

Smokers are a small, shrinking minority now. It makes the non-smokers glad when you guys get stuck with new restrictions and higher taxes. Politicians know this and use it to garner support.

You have no chance to reverse this and future taxes. Your choices are to deal with it and spend the money, or the better choice, quit smoking.

Answer 4

If you are in Chicagoland, buy your cigarettes in Indiana. Problem solved.

Sin taxes are meant to punish people that engage in activities that the government want to discourage. That is why taxes are high on cigarettes and alcohol.

Answer 5

As a non smoker i can work out the place having extremely a tax to subsidize each and all the well-being problems that smoking motives. (sure, secondhand smoke IS undesirable for you! choose info? i'm allergic to it.) additionally through fact many cigarette human beings who smoke refuse to apply a trashcan and dumb their butts on the floor, many cities ought to hire city sweepers to stroll around and sweep up your cigarette butts. It costs alot of money. i do no longer see any concern with human beings who smoke paying for that value. It does no longer be there in case you are able to desire to by using your butts away. yet i do no longer accept as true with those new tax propositions in place. I do think of you're paying intense adequate. i do no longer think of taxing the hell out of one group or yet another is a clever answer to a concern. regardless of the actuality that, be chuffed to end any time! We (the non-human beings who smoke) will aid you out and we effective won't ***** if we don't see your cigarette butts everywhere.

Answer 6

Not only will the taxes keep going up, but the places where you can legally smoke will continue to decrease.

Answer 7

There is no law that says that taxes cannot be unfairly high.