Drop in Smoking Means Less Tax Revenue

[The Straight Story]

Drop in Smoking Means Less Tax Revenue

By MARTIGA LOHN Thursday, February 15, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Roland Henkel quit smoking in September and has been doing the math ever since: A week added to his life. More than 2,100 Marlboro Lights he hasn't smoked. And more than $400 he didn't spend on cigarettes.

....

The state of Minnesota has been doing the math, too, and isn't quite as delighted.

Because of quitters like Henkel, Minnesota's tobacco tax revenue is expected to go into a gradual slide later this year _ a drop that may grow even steeper with the expected passage of a statewide smoking ban.

Across the country, states are putting their treasuries under pressure by adopting smoking restrictions as well as higher cigarette taxes, which appear to be discouraging people from lighting up, as many health activists had hoped would happen.

State Sen. David Tomassoni, a Democrat who opposes a statewide smoking ban, said he worries about the lost tax dollars.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/02/15/ap/us/d8naao6o0.txt

[Little Wing]

1. Eventually less Medicare costs, too. Everyone wins.

Except some tobaccy farmers, but it's time for them to move on.

[The Straight Story]

3. Not really

governments are using this money to fund a lot of things, so they will still need the money - they will just come after other folks next.

[Little Wing]

8. totally non-topical, but ok

[hfojvt]

16. they would do well to

make their state income taxes more progressive
Kansas income tax for a single person is
AGI 5,250 - 20,250 - 3.5%
20,250 - 35,250 - $525 + 6.25%
over 35,250 - $1462.5 + 6.45%

So a person making $25,000 faces almost the same marginal tax rate as somebody making $25,000,000. If they put in another bracket at 100,000 and got another 1%, and another bracket at $500,000 and got another 1% and another bracket at $1,000,000, then how much money would that bring in?

[wuushew]

5. I figure tobacco farmers would be eager to get in on bio fuels

or hemp farming. Isn't tobacco one of the worst plants in terms of soil depletion?

[wuushew]

2. Don't you make that up one the other end?

less sick days means more worker productivity and taxable income from factories and fewer lung and heart problems save on medical costs.

[Clark2008]

6. Not really.

Americans who don't smoke are still in poor health from our diets and lack of exercise.

Look at Europe: the smoke and drink like fiends, but they don't have nearly the health problems we do because A.) they eat healthier, B.) they walk more often and C.) they have universal health care.

Smoking isn't great, but it's not the ONLY health problem (in fact, it's shouldn't even be considered the No. 1 health problem anymore) that we face.

[Done]

11. Absolutely, we keep getting fatter and fatter as we...

continue this jihad against tobacco. I haven't smoked in a while, but smokers do outlive fat people.

[The Straight Story]

7. I don't think so - see this snippet

"The taxes on smoking are being used to fund education, they're being used to fund health care, they're being used to fund real things. Now, if we eliminate smoking, does it mean that those things go away?" Tomassoni said.


Which to me means they have more than enough to pay for medical care and are using the left overs for other things.

In other words, it was not costing them as much as they thought to treat smokers on medicare, they keep the extra and fund more things. Smoking taxes dry up, and so do a lot of other things - and not all the stuff they treat with those dollars are smoking related health care issues - so they will still need to fund medicare and their other items.

[LaurenG]

4. You know I read that as Drop-In smoking

due to the cold weather (drop-in centers for those without heat) and the ban on smoking I thought this was a thread about a place that allowed smoking indoors. :silly:

I do wonder what states will do to replace that income.

[MADem]

9. Tax something else that they see as bad for you...like, say, fast food,

or sweets...

It's only a matter of time. They've got to go after something that's used by a large percentage of the population...

[rinsd]

10. Monday was my 1 year anniversary of quitting smoking

I averaged a pack a day for 12 1/2 years.

A pack a day at $5 a pack (here in CA) = $1825

[Mind_your_head]

18. Congratulations!!! Keep up the good work!

:toast:

I still smoke, so I have a special admiration for people that have been successful in kicking the habit.

[rinsd]

20. You can quit too.

I haven;t become one of those anti-smoking zealots though I can see where that mentality is useful in fighting off the addiction.

But I do tell everyone I know to quit. Especially when they congratulate me for quitting.

My position is if I can quit anyone can. I did it cold turkey only chewing straws (helps with oral fixation, keeps mouth busy without eating nothing but candy) but there are many cessation aids out there.

DU has a smoking cessation group.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=326

May you find the strength to say enough in the near future.

:toast:

[kath]

21. Hubby's grandma quit cold-turkey at the age of 79, after having been a

smoker for approximately 60 years, and never smoked again. She lived another 12 years or so.

If she can do it after 60 years of smoking, then so can others.

Congrats on quitting, rinsd!

[Mind_your_head]

22. Thank you for the encouragement to quit

(and stay 'quit'....that's my problem)....I'll quit some day, even if it kills me to do so. But if I quit before I die, I'm still gonna "run with scissors" ;-) I can't help it, it's in my personality to do so! lol

I've checked out the smoking cessation group, and there's a lotta good stuff there. I really found Alan Carr's book to be EXTREMELY HELPFUL, the problem is that I would have to read it constantly to stay in that (good) frame of mind. *sigh*

Congrats! Thank you and Peace,
M_Y_H

P.S. To the OP, et al....sorry, don't want to hijack your thread with this.

[GeorgeGist]

12. I guess they'll have to find some other ...

addiction to exploit.

[countingbluecars]

13. Tax luxury items instead. eom

[GreenTea]

14. Legalise pot and there will be a windfall of new tax dollars for BushCo & the republicans wars.....

there will be more of our tax dollars for the corporations to steal in their war for profit!

[pdrichards114]

15. This is why whenever any govt. needs money. Hey Let's tax the smokers!!!

These stupid fucks need to learn, you can't keep taxing smokers to fund under-funded programs that are not associated with increased health care costs from smoking. Eventually the majority will quit and stay quit, and then wtf will they do. Sin-taxes are a horrible short term solution to a much larger problem.

[bling bling]

17. What smoker or former smoker didn't see this coming.

I don't think the anti-smoking mobs were *fully* conscious of the repercussions of villifying and taxing the hell out of smokers. Oh well, I guess local health, social, and educational programs are no big loss compared to the personal victory of feeling superior to smokers.

The beauty here is that the people who truly have a win-win situation are those of us who do quit. It was one of the best things I ever did for so many reasons including all the money I saved in taxes!! But I'll never cease to be totally turned off by the anti-smoking freaks who feel justified in being a**holes to smokers, no matter how legitimate they think their reasons are.

[Catchawave]

19. Raise the Death Tax then ....

...derrrrr...:sarcasm: :smoke: <---still under a pack a day :evilgrin: