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How Much Do My Sins Cost?
Federal and local governments are taxing our vices...big time. These taxes, known as "sin tax", generate revenue and affect purchases. So, how much would my smokes cost without all the taxes?
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They should ban tobacco tomorrow. Then we could listen to the States piss and moan about the tax shortfalls. It would be epic.....little Jimmy local congress critter would not have a stash of pork to buy his brother's new water meters for everyone in town. Oh....the humanity.....
How about if we ban your internet access because it's bad for my health? Fuck this nanny state shit.
Dude....I was being sarcastic...hate the nanny state. If you banned my internet how wouuld i get my donkey porn?
Sorry, Chainsaw. I'm drinking and angry because my tapir porn site is down.
If I had a fuckin nickel for everytime I said "sorry chainsaw"....
Ha! That one made my night.
I don't smoke. Either tobacco or mexican giggle weed.
I don't gamble. At least CASINO gambling.
And I don't drink any more. Of course I don't drink any less either.
So I just don't care. Tax the drunken gambling smokers to death for all I care.
U must be just a hoot @ parties..
I was just about to give him shit for being a loser and being on the internet posting on a Saturday night. Then I took a shot and slapped myself. And then I posted here. Tme for another shot.
You could be spending 20 bucks on cabs and 50 bucks on drinks this very second. You're a bad consumer!
The wages of sin are Death.
Good or Bad, Generous or Mean as Scrooge, we all go eventually. It's just that those who live an "interesting" life seem to check out somewhat earlier, often as a result of acquiring infections you really don't want to hear about (or read up on either, for that matter!).
So, in light of reality, maybe the saying should really be "The wages of Sin are an earlier Death"??
Makes me stay up at night thinking of ways to not pay taxes.
As LoP says: Go long black markets!
Unfortunately, I do still smoke. Outside the US I typically pay less than $2.00 USD for the same pack of smokes I get at home.
Until recently, I was smoking around 3 packs/day, at a cost of $5.50/pack in cartons. Yup, around $600/month. You don't want to know my beer/wine budget, but though excessive, it wasn't as bad in bucks.
I switched to vaping. A 15 dollar bottle of the "juice" is worth about 3 weeks worth of cigs...I got the "super cowboy killer" with extra everything (nic-36, xtra menthol) and I just take smaller hits, and sometimes now forget about smoking for a whole hour at a time. That's a fairly big deal, as anyone addicted knows - you'll get up in the middle of the night to smoke.
Savings are huge, I feel better - no more coughing up phlegm in the morning till I see spots (I'm 60 and was at it since age 13), more lung capacity is coming back - it's fantastic.
There are a few things to learn about the care and feeding of a vape stick (I'm using vaporshark) - so you don't coke up (that nasty black stuff, not the fun white stuff) the wick and such, but man, it's way, way worth it. I might even manage to quit - I've been cutting back since it's more of a pita, by a little.
Probably less pain given, no ashtrays, no lighters, no mess, my house smells nice again and so forth.
No, I don't do the "candy" flavours. This is an addiction. If I want to eat mint or a chocolate cookie, I'll just eat mint or a cookie. If I want to smell flowers, I'll get some and stick my nose in them. This is so I don't go nuts with the stress of withdrawl. It works better than the patches, the gum, everything - the rest of my body knows better, the patches break me out, the gum makes me toss cookies. This is just about the same, but for the damage from the other junk, monoxide, destructive distillation of wood, and so forth.
Gibraltar - USD 27 for 200 (thats 2.70 a pack for the Meerkans) - and Gib still makes a huge margin.
Yeah, but it's kind of a long walk...;~}
"Is"
The wages of life are death.
FIFY
I don't drink anything stronger than Pop.
Pop will drink anthing.
I drink little and my biggest vice they can't effectively tax...MFF fun.
LMAO....+1.
that was one of the few times I made myself laugh.
made me laugh too...
Popcorn Sutton had the right idea.
Make yer own likker, and grow yer own tabacky!
To hell with the revinooer's!
When the income from tobacco taxes dwindles to nothing, coffee and booze will be next on the list. They'll probably be a little more careful with the tea tax though.
We need to implement a dumbass tax, that would just about solve the deficit problem via congress alone...
That would drop unemployment by 2% just hiring enough people to collect.
I think they already have a dumbass tax, its called the lottery.
I used to agree with that - lottery is a tax on those who are statistically challenged. Then I noticed something, this total lack of upward mobility.
For those guys, their chances are otherwise zero. Win the lotto, and they make the bigtime. Sure it's one in a zillion odds, but the odds were otherwise zero. So the "gain" is one in a zillion over zero - infinite, possibly. Maybe they aren't that dumb. Just sayin. I don't play the lotto myself, but then, there's no need, I'm already at the top.
i don't think that is fair or informed. it depends on the lottery but the expected dividend in the UK Lottery is about 45pc plus 20pc to good causes. So the payout iback to you, f you are socially minded is about 65pc. Not unfair IMHO.
Here they claimed all the lotto profits would go to education. Other than a couple photo ops, they found some way to spend all their profits on themselves, for high dollar TV ads, nice offices, other stuff, corruption and graft. It was all BS from the get-go. Don't believe that "good causes" stuff till you see the money actually get there - it usually does not. It's just (government) organized crime all over again.
Then they claimed the tobacco legal settlements would go to health care. Not one dime. A couple free "public service" TV ads here in VA for how many millions? Where'd that money go? It sure didn't go to my health care!
Now is the time to learn what it takes to grow and properly cure tobacco. If circumstances result in a breakdown of supply chains and/or currency becomes worthless, imagine all the smokers in your area being forced to quit, cold turkey.
If you think a zombie apocalypse would be bad, picture a nicotine fit apocalypse.
growing tobacco is HARD
i tried once
seeds are cheap enuf, and plenty of varieties to choose from
gotta figure out what works for your area or is semi native
i had low yield and the bugs ate most all of it
dem bugs likes der chew, boss!
If growing tobacco is that hard, how did rednecks down south make a living from it for 200 or so years?
A country boy will survive.
Just 'cause we have a drawl doesn't mean we're stoopid...
DaddyO
I think I like you, DaddyO. A green from me.
Hornworms. At least around here. I've grown it before, and yes, you have to be on the lookout for those bastards. I do have a packet of seeds that was originally cultivated by a tribe not more than 20 miles from me, but I haven't tried it yet. I believe it is an N. Rustica variety instead of a N. Tobaccum. If I'm correct, that means smaller plants, but a higher nicotine concentration.
An interesting thing about hornworms: Nicotine is very poisonous to most critters, but not them. When they get on a tobacco plant, that nicotine builds up in their bodies, and they become toxic to other critters, even after they go through chrysalises to become moths.
Regarding hornworms, you might want to try interspersing some borage plants with your tobacco plants.
The tomato hornworm is closely related to the tobacco hornworm, and either can be found on both tomato and tobacco plants, as they feed on the foliage of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
Four years ago my neighbors' tomatoes suffered from hornworm infestations. They recommended that I check my tomato plants and remove the little bastards before they could do too much damage. Upon checking, I found that none of mine were affected. I had planted borage between my tomato plants because I'd read that they were supposed to help improve the soil and prevent pests. I never really looked into which specific pests they were supposed to prevent, but further reading specifically mentioned hornworms.
I gave my neighbors some borage seed, which they planted with their tomatoes in subsequent seasons, and they haven't seen a hornworm since.
Thanks for the tip, Fourth.
Just tryin' to help.
If I got caught growing a tobacco plant here in South Australia it can land me a $50000 fine and two years in jail. Only a few years ago here I could grow ten marijuana plants and get a $150 on the spot fine. It really is a topsy-turvy F"%&ed up world!!
Sorry, but my results tend to differ from your statement. Here's my true story:
In 2011, NY state decided that they left a loophole open in their tax scheme that left out "roll your own" tobacco. They decided to tax it at something like $3.64 per ounce (not kidding!). The 1-lb bag of tobacco I normally bought for about $27.00 would have more than tripled in price.
So, I said, "crap, I've been rolling my own for years (since 2000), now I have to grow my own." Got some seeds from victoryseed.com. planted them in five-gallon buckets and they started growing in April. I also planted some tomatoes and other vegetables.
Anyhow, here in upstate NY (Rochester), these tobacco plants grew to over seven feet high, had great leaves and I began cutting and drying - actually just hung the leaves on my clothesline. I cut some of it with an ordinary manual paper cutter, chopped it up nice and smoked some, stored the rest. The smokes were great.
I grew more this summer, and noticed something unusual about tobacco plants. They attract bugs, but the bugs die on them. Did some research and found out that nicotine is the base ingredient for many pesticides. So, not only do the bugs die on my tobacco plants, they cut the insect population to the other crops. Nice, natural solution.
I'm moving to SC soon, where I have secured 3 1/2 acres. We'll see how my plants and vegetables do there.
BTW: New York never passed the law that would have raised the tax. It was shot down by the legislature by "convenience store lobby" pressure
RIP Popcorn.
I feel for that guy.
He worked hard, to make a good product that people liked, and couldn't really understand why he wasn't allowed to.
Or load up when you visit the rezzies.
There are few things more liberating than popping the top on a bottle of your own homebrew, or pulling the cork from a bottle of your own wine.
Stop paying sin taxes and make your own at home.
You obviously have never set up a still.
'Sin taxes' the new ad campaign from your friends at Altria (aka Phillip Morris).
Off all the offenses currently on offer from .gov taxing cigs seems low on the list. Infact, I'd go so far as being alright with it.
France has been giving it a go and I think it preferrable to their old policy of everyone must smoke all the time everywhere.
This pisses me off probably more than just about anything. It's all levied on the basis of some sort of "increase in cost" to the healthcare system. There is only one "fact" about healthcare costs: the longer you live, the more you cost. As soon as everyone gets that through their small brains, they will realize that the whole campaign to legislate lifestyle through taxation is just another attempt from the fucking nerds that somehow are given power in this day and age to justify their existence. Here's a solution: tax women for having children (childbirth costs a bundle). Tax every kid that goes to gym class (broken bones are very expensive these days). And anyone that participates in football, gymnastics or golf? Healthcare will be fixing your backs and knees forever. Bottom line is I don't mind letting anyone do whatever they want to do. Vices singled out because they aren't the stuff they want to talk about at the PTA meeting. Fuck em.
YEAK!!!!
smoking should be manditory to kill em all off faster
Well you're simply wrong on a number of fronts.
There is only one "fact" about healthcare costs: the longer you live, the more you cost. As soon as everyone gets that through their small brains
Totally and obviously wrong. Treatment cost$ the big money, living longer is irrelevent. My grandfather lived till he was 88 and I don't recall ever seeing him in the hospital until the day he died (not much they could do about DOA though). He smoked a pack a day until he was mid 50 to boot.
Vices singled out because they aren't the stuff they want to talk about at the PTA meeting.
There happens to be a difference between vices like smoking benson+hedges and childbirth, trying to equat the two is totally idiotic. I like to smoke, drink and gamble and live in a country that taxes them all to death. So fucking what?
Oh wow I pay a little bit extra on my drinks, boo hoo let me get out my pen and paper so I can whine to my local rep about how oppressed I am.
You know what really costs the taxpayer in the US? This little thing called the war on drugs. But nothing is ever done about that because it makes the pigs the $$$. Tramples all over peoples constitutional rights too, but fuck it. Gotta war them drugs, it's tradition.
Bullshit. Get your facts straight. Fact: 30 to 50% of everyone's lifetime healthcare costs are incurred in their last three months of life. Fact: everyone dies. Fact: biggest healthcare costs are in the area of cancer treatment. Fact: longer you live, greater the odds you get cancer of some type someday, regardless of your lifestyle habits. Fact: cheapest deaths are from massive heart attacks where you are dead at the scene. I suggest you google "effect on healthcare costs if the entire nation quit smoking". New England Journal of Medicine study concluded short term savings, then explosive growth in healthcare costs for the same people that are now going to live longer. And the savings to social security and other benefit programs could be enormous. Point of the study is telling: if you want to discourage smoking then do so on the basis of promoting a healthy lifestyle. But dont do it on the basis of saving money, because it is going to cost you. Time to start thinking outside your box. And Im sorry about your granddad. But he was given a gift. Best to you and your family.
Calm down, man, you need a smoke.
<---- Legalize pot and end the drug war.
<---- Keeping on taxing everything to fund government.
Hold on, I'm busy making a batch of crystal meth in my bathtub at the moment.
E-Meth...it's OK...it's electronic....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5q8KWL6Ezw
Uh-Oh...time to go Gakk the Woop Chicken....
Do you accept Bitcoin for that?
:)
Is that what I smelled coming off your body in public?
I'll trade ya some bath salts for some of that meth. By the way did you know you are engaged in one of the top money making industries in Kentucky?
How to hedge against the rising costs of your sins.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=SAM+Basic+Chart&t=5y
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=PM+Basic+Chart&t=5y
It is clear that Boston Beer has learnt from Ben. More froth and bubbles increases wealth.
Bubbles .... no Bubbles can I see.
Good thing I don't, uh, ...gamble...too often?!
You're on The Hedge, no?
NSA Global SIGINT Power to Generate Profits and Pay
http://cryptome.org/2013/11/nsa-power-profit-pay.htm
Are speeding tickets considered a 'sin' tax? They certainly are seen as revenue.
I received a toll notice a few months ago. Apparently, I was driving in Florida on a new toll road and it didn't have tol booths set up yet, so they send the charge by mail. They have cameras set up and they snap your plate and send you the bill. I seriously considered fighting it but it was $3 and I have better things to do.
I am convinced we are going there. I mean the math is so simple. I get on the Jersey Tpke and go through ezpass. I get off at my exit and go through ezpass. They take the two ezpass times and divide it by the mileage and you get my speed and whamo, tickets in the mail. The best part? No need for troopers.
Forget that penny-ante crap. Your car has GPS in it. They'll give you a ticket every time you exceed the posted speed limit on your way home. Imagine getting 8 speeding tickets on a single trip.
someone already did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz4HEEiJuGo
That's why I drive an E34 540i
"I am convinced we are going there"
I am prone to hyperbole, but this is a true story. No shit. We're there.
good correction. we are there.
You couldn't pay me enough to use that EZ Pass shit. Will not ever use it.
The French had that system on their Autoroutes decades ago. Fortunately the Autoroutes had very nice places where one could stop for a break, something to eat, etc. So, the common strategy was to hammer along until a convenient rest stop, have lunch (leisurely) then high warp speed to the exit toll booth. Great when you are in a group of like-minded individuals, with similar performance machines. Not many places where you can ride at 245 kph (indicated) and not get a very hefty ticket!
One thing theydo right in the Middle East is traffic laws. Probably the most fun thing about living in Bahrain or Kuwait is driving. In Bahrain you could literally pass a cop doing twice the speed limit, swerve across 3 lanes without even signaling, and they just watch you go. Their belief is "insha Allah" - gods will. If you want to drive like an asshole and kill yourself, it is gods will, and they don't interfere. Incidentally, a Kia carnival minivan will do 140 mph. The other great thing, unlike here on the land of the free, none of their cars have engine governors.
In my city, since November 1st, they have given out 3500 alternate side parking tickets (you have to switch what side of the street you park on every night so snow plows can clear streets). Most of those ticketed are renters (college kids). Big time tax for this city. Like printing money. Each ticket is $10 which jumps to $20 after 10 days of not paying it...and so on.
Yeah, it looks like marijuana would be better off staying criminalized, than be fake "legalized" in that manner. As long as the fundamental financial system is based on fraud, backed by the force of the taxation system, everything ends up being another insane runaway cartel, due to the banking cartel being central to everything else. In that context, ironically, it looks like illegal cartels are better than the legalized cartels.
Welcome again, back to the Bizarro Mirror World, Folks! In this place, when drugs are legalized, they still end up costing more, because the government still continues to be the biggest organized crime gang, controlled by the best organized gang of criminals, who adapt to enough people waking up to their deceits by front-running new systems of deceptions.
Fuckers didn't see dime one in taxes from the "rope" I just burned.
~Q^Q~
Unless it was carried to you from whereever it was produced, the dope had fuel tax costs applied to overhead.
I was going to post the same idea -- but saw yours first. I'd say the only reason heroin, cocaine, etc are illegal is because the government hasn't figured out yet how to make money off them. I think it's a load of BS that it's illegal because it's somehow bad for society. It's illegal because they can't tax people who can't earn money somehow. I guess drunks and potheads can still get money (legally) somehow to pay the government for the 'privilege' of using alcohol and pot.
Bryan, if you enjoy a macabre sense of humour, where the "joke" is merely to report on what is observed as the "real world," as that is controlled by Huge Lies, so that "reality" appears to be awesomely absurd, then:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5t3j6xQLmY
Funny FKN Planet - Deek Jackson
Hour long collection of video essays.
At 14:45 mark begins one on drugs.
Segment ended at the 21:18 mark.
Spoiler alert: the money from illegal drugs ends up in banks, and so, drugs are illegal because, in every way, that makes more money for banks, as well as benefits them in numerous other ways.
haha... good video. Personally, I think most recreational drugs are a bad idea (especially addictive ones) because I think life offers enough enjoyment without them. I did a couple years of pot in my teens and figured out I couldn't think clearly any more and so I stopped... and yes I did inhale. ;-) But still, if the government could make money off them, I'm sure you could buy your heroin or blow from the local, government regulated drug store.
The war on drugs is generating more money for the government cronies than any tax ever could. Taxing drugs would be like picking up nickels on a highway, too much moral risk. They have an unlimited supply of printed money being laundered thru the war on drugs. Print, send, get kick back, rinse and repeat.
The more recreational drugs a person does, the more the markets make sense
.
I'd say the only reason heroin, cocaine, etc are illegal is because the government has figured out how to make shitloads of money off them.
Google "Chip Tatum" to get an intro to who the real drug cartels are.....(Hint, you've probably voted for one of the members a time or two.....)
Ive battled with the evil nicotine for yrs, not sure if its better but i "vape" now, $8 total cost per week, this from almost a pack a day fiend, plus all the other shit they lace it with, it should be taxed away IMO.
Home grown weed? as long as its skunky...
Started to vape myself......it's under the radar until they figure out how to tax it. Actually like it better than smokes....can't stand smokes now.
I carry one of those to bars and concerts and shit, but want the real thing as soon as I walk out the door.
Buddies in high school picked ditch weed (from a junk yard) and dried it in the microwave (then smoked it). I've never seen eyes so red. This was back in the mid 90's. Probably would have been better off spending $30 for an eighth (i think that was the price back then).
We'll (Australia) see your 58% and raise it by a hundred or so % ... $22.00 per pack of 30 ( all brands drab green packaging and cannot be displayed or seen in store ) ?
Of course it is all for our own good.
Maybe in Mad Max part 9 they will set up a compound around a tobacco farm instead of an oil refinery. You would still need something to fuel the Interceptor though.
The interceptor is a marvelous piece of machinery.
Can you live with your ORIGINAL sins?
If I need to explain that question, you're normal.
$2,500 for a pound of weed....give me a fucking break
Is it a sin for Wall Street to steal? It must not be because it's never taxed.
Stop and Frisk the wall st bankers......thats where all the coke is........just sayin...
~~~
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512374/Florida-police-stop-man-258-times-TRESPASSING-place-work.html
"The line is zero tolerance,’ Gilbert explained to Pastrana. ‘So if you break a law, you’re going to jail.’"
Tell me why aren't the prisons full of banksters??????????????????
They keep taxing those who can least afford it. Eventually, they will tax these "sin products" out of existance. Kind of like gasoline taxes, which get continually raised because its easy to do.
It's a sin to use gasoline. Tax it.
It's a sin to seek liberty. Tax it.
It's a sin to seek freedom. Tax it.
It's a sin to seek privacy. Tax it.
It's a sin to criticize the government. Drone it.
LTER, Alaska is awesome in winter!
Eat Shit.
http://rt.com/news/iran-historic-nuclear-deal-201/
Wow, the neo-con traitors will be foaming at the mouth on tomorrow's talk shows... they may even have to call that lizard David Frum out of retirement?
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Just buy all your sins with Bitcoin
Amen.
Talking about sins, here is some new stuff from Snowden:
NSA hacked over 50,000 computer networks worldwide - reportThe US National Security Agency hacked more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide installing malware designated for surveillance operations, Dutch newspaper NRC reports citing documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
The latest round of revelations comes from a document dating from 2012 that shows the extent of the NSA’s worldwide surveillance network.
Published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, it points out more than 50,000 locations, where the NSA used ‘Computer Network Exploitation’ (CNE) and implanted malicious software into the networks.
According to the NSA website CNE “includes enabling actions and intelligence collection via computer networks that exploit data gathered from target or enemy information systems or networks.”
Once the computer has been infected, the ‘implants’ act as digital 'sleeper cells' that can be remotely turned on or off with a single push of a button, the Dutch paper reported. The malware can remain active for years without being detected, the newspaper added. The malicious operations reportedly were carried out in many countries including China, Russia, Venezuela and Brazil.
http://rt.com/news/nsa-hacked-world-networks-209/
Can't wait for the story to be leaked about how intel agencies worked with all the anti-virus software companies to keep their strains of infection off the radar, so to speak.
I've always wondered about that nsa_analytics message right after the googleanalytics message when loading a page while surfing.
The Wages Of Sin - Rainmakers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdz_rmARn3E
.
Songwriters: Walkenhorst, Bob
"The Wages Of Sin" by The Rainmakers from _Tornado_
---------------------------------------------------
I was praying last night when an angel broke the line
She said "I'm gonna have to put you on hold for a time"
I said "Hold like Hell, let me talk to the Boss"
She said "Sorry sucker (sinner), it's the Boss's day off"
And I realized then that the wages of sin
Was two bucks an hour and working weekends
I was ignoring the thief who was lashed to the cross
He cried "Help me get this son-of-a-bitch off"
I said "I would if I could, I can't so I won't
Well I wouldn't want you messing your hair up, so don't"
And I realized then that the wages of sin
Was all the lumber you can carry, all the nails you can bend
,
The wages of sin, the reward of fear
Is worrying and fretting every second of the year
If Heaven is guilt, no sex and no show
Then I'm not sure if I really want to go, Oh
.
The wages of sin, the price that you pay
Is worrying and fretting every second of the day
The Church and the State, your God and Countrykind
One gets your body, the other gets your mind
Mary, Mary Magdalene, how 'bout a date?
You've been wasting your time staying up so late
Your boyfriend's dead, the word is you're a whore
Just about then I heard a knock on the door
And I realized then that the wages of sin
Was a bad reputation and too many friends
The wages of sin (repeats)
They're happy to tax it, pull you over and charge you $10,000+, and not put any of the money into healthcare - just stupid commercials.
Funny how they call these things a "sin" but are happy to profit from it, eh?
Been on the wagon for 5 years. Figure that's about 75K in post payroll tax savings over that time. Better yet it didn't go to the rapacious fucknut .gov drones.
And spare me this holier an thou shit 'it's for the children'. Sin taxes are the slush fund cash for the stuff they can't put to a public ballot.
I quit smoking in 89 but only half the reason was my health, the other half was the tax i was avoiding. Every one hates taxes, even the liberals but they lie about it.
"Image source: www.online-accounting-degrees.net"
A suggestion: how about reinstating gluttony as a sin?
It's already registered.
http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/
Driving a vehicle in the UK is also sin taxed, because the majority of the cost of fuel, in addition to road tax, is tax.
So to pay this tax I have to go to work with pay that is also get taxed so I can then pay the getting to work tax
Hey - the govvies gotta get their skim where they can - divide and conquer works - otherwise we'd all be paying more and might do something. Plus - don't we all ejoy those critical government services and the efficient way they are delivered?
But wait, there's more! The Federales get a big piece of the action too.
Years ago, I did some financial work on a small cigarette manufacturer in Virginia. Their income statement showed revenues of about 25 million FeRNs, less costs & expenses of about 12 million, equaled operating profit of about 13 million...less federal taxes of 12 million, equaled net income of 1 million. The feds made many times more money on the operation than the stockholders by effectively doubling the cost of their product!
The company had a greaseboard calendar on the wall, with two days each week boldly marked. If the company did not pay their federal cigarette taxes on those days, Federal agents would be at their warehouse the next day the shut 'em down.
Then, a couple years ago, my state gubbermint decreed that all cigs sold must be "fire thafe," to protect smokers from themselves, for their own thafety, for the children... So, the non-smokers now force smokers to smoke cigs saturated in fire retardant. Besides the 4+ FeRNs a pack in taxes, this was the last straw for me. I now buy tobacco and sleeves on the internet and roll my own. My total cost of a pack of cigs is about 1.00 to 1.25 FeRNs and they taste better and are not saturated in fire retardant. Best of all, I do my part to STARVE THE BEAST, by not paying ~4 FeRNs a pack in taxes.
Unfortunately, this is another example how gubbermint has actually reversed the "division of labor" described by Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, since I make enough (doing what I do best) to pay someone else to roll my cigs.
...and, yes, they actually tax the air you breathe by charging state sales tax on the cost of filling scuba tanks.
Welcome to 'murka, land of the fee and home of the slave.
Anyone who watched The SOPRANOS knows how much per sin. Its at the end of this 2 minute clip:
Sopranos-Paulie On Purgatory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObglF8WUsWM
Bypass the whole cigarette tax and start vaping. Haven't had a cigarette in 2 years. No longer will I pay their tax. I can breathe again. Finally got tired of paying to kill myself.