Cigarette Tax

     It could soon cost more to purchase cigarettes and tobacco in Louisiana.  Lawmakers are considering an almost 200 percent tax increase.  If passed, it would raise the state tax on cigarettes from 36 cents a pack to $1.06 a pack.  Smokers say enough is enough!  What do you think of House Bill 63?  Are smokers being made an easy target for taxes?

Comments

[SHUT UP ABOUT THIS..]

thats what we want..more drunks in our town..

HEY IDIOTS...DRINKING ONE BEER CAN KILL YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE OR SMOKING A CIG UMMMM WELL..NOT A NEW BRAINER..

WHY POST THIS...WHY...LIKE ITS GOING TO GET PEOPLE TO STOP SMOKING.

KPLC YOU SUCK WITH NEWS....

[WhoMe]

Price Prohibition does not work.It's How to make a Thief out of a Honest Person.

[jock martin]

Raising the tax as suggested where there is a LOT of money involved always invites corruption and illegal activities including the same issues brought up during the alcohol prohibition days. Some will get rich, some will spend their last dime trying to get lung cancer, and we all loose. Education on the true dangers of cancer of the lung would help except the young are bullet proof and will never get cancer. Just ask them. I think that if you can prove that your illness is the direct result of smoking, your health bill should be much higher than a person, non smoker, who intentionally avoids this sick habit. That may help with cost savings, but don't count on it. They may all switch to alcohol to forget their woes.

[IMPEACH THE IDIOT NOW!]

I'm not a smoker and i personally cannot stand it, but the continuing raising of taxes on tobacco is simply stupid. Correct and validate from "within" the coffers of our government FIRST and then let's talk.

[S. A..]

If the state needs more money then they should budget better. The powers that be will acknowledge that there is too much wate but will do nothing to fix the problem. Instead they just keep piling on the taxes on smokers. Why is it they are not hitting the drinkers and gamblers? Why do they not hit the golfers and pleasure boaters. Better yet....fix the massive leaks in the budget!

[DA. GARDNER FOR MAYOR]

OK the easiest solution is for the state to live within it's means. If you get in X from taxes and revenue then you can only spend X, just like running a household budget.

If we need to raise money pass the hat.

1. Have wild life and fisheries collect 5.00 for every boat launched into water.
2. Raise tax on beverages with over 2% alcohol.
3. Have police issue tickets to cars that have music playing so loud you "feel it" in your car, say 500.00.
4. If a casino post a quarterly profit then the state gets 10% extra from that profit, and the city gets 10% also, they still make money.
5. Charge all parents 2.00 to drop off or pick up their kids at school.
6. The director of the visitors bureau makes 90-110K to say WELCOME hire a wal-mart greeter for 8.00 bucks an hour.

[Frustrated Tax Payer]

Legalize Pot and tax the hell out it. After all it is a natural herb. Wow does the director of the visitors bureau really make that much.

[Tailspin Harry]

Tar and Feather them all - Tax the FAT PEOPLE !

[Tailspin Harry]

How about a Urination Tax or a Sewage fee for Human Feces :) WOW now that would be equal and fair - EVERYONE , even Katrina people would finally have to pay A TAX !

[DA. GARDNER FOR MAYOR]

FTP-Yes there was an article in the American Press by the Informer and information was requested about the visitors bureau and the director's salary was posted.

We would make such a killing from legalized pot.

[DA. GARDNER FOR MAYOR]

Tailspin-They would all just go use the bathrooms at the new downtown park where they will shower in the water fountains and BBQ some chicken and ribs on the grills. And we can all enjoy rap music played louder then the human ear can stand. And if we can legalize pot, wow just imagine what would happen then. But we would have the ZOO that we always wanted....

[ms. annie]

I'm with Gardner (especially the loud booming music "tax") - EXCEPT for suggestion no. 5 - I don't think we should ever tax parents for caring for their children and actually making sure they get to school to obtain their education and then make sure they make it safely back home. Let's scratch that one, and I'd say we got a plan!

[DA. GARDNER FOR MAYOR]

Annie- I see your point, OK we can scratch 5. What if we replace it however with a dress code tax: I really do not want to see all of this and that hanging out and I really do not want to see pants hang down so low it is a wonder people can walk in them..
Or better yet, 1000 dollar fine if you are talking on the cell phone while driving and cut someone off or do some stupid maneuver that makes the other person have to avoid you and YOU are oblivious to it all.
One exception to the dress code tax: If they are Gardner Girls then nobody will mind anything hanging out :)

[Mike]

There's some cute rhetoric in these blogs...thanks for the entertainment!! More to the point, I think the cigarette tax is discrimination, pure and simple. Lung cancer (smoking) is currently the most popular whipping boy for the health profession and politicians. They won't go after alcohol because the majority of Americans wouldn't stand for it. Politicians won't risk their careers tackling that issue. Most remember prohibition and don't want to go down that road again. Smokers, according to statistics, only account for about 20% of the population so attacking them doesn't rile up the majority of the voters. It's a typical coward's approach.

Make no mistake, I'm not a smoker and I hate the habit but I'll defend a smokers right to light up as long as I don't have to breathe the results. As for smokers diseases causing an increase in my health care costs; if the statistics are correct, then these astounding medical cost increases are brought about by a mere 20% of the population, many of whom don't have smoking related problems anyway. That doesn't ring true to me. I'm not drinking the Cool-Aid but I can certainly taste the discrimination.

[Hahaha]

DA, I wouldn't mind seeing some hanging out on the Gardner girls, but good lord, go to walmart and see all the hanging out pf some pd these big mama's in their spandex showing off their stamps. Make I want to rake your eyes out.
On the subject, I'm glad I stopped buying, so the tax don't affect me.
As far as health costs, isn't that what the tobacco settlement was supposed to be for, and now what are they trying to use the money for?

Kinda like the fuel tax we pay to keep our roads in good condition. The money is used for everything else but the roads.

[Spectator]

Tax the Stupid! The legislators will be the hardest hit....

[UpNorth]

Why don't the state and fed government just go to a strait up sales tax on everything. State could pull in say, 5% and the Feds could pull 10%. And this would be on everything, If you buy something, tax. If a business buys something, tax. I know this would chop off a huge political football.
It would be fair, EVERYONE would pay taxes on what you consume.

[DA. GARDNER FOR MAYOR]

HAHAHA- It was my last trip to wal-mart that made me want to institute the dress code tax, I looked at pretty sure a woman and could not tell where on wrinkle of flesh ended and another began, an either her tramp stamp was either melting or trying to run away. I also like the roads they help me to keep my margaritas stirred while I drive, but I must admit, I have had to drink a lot of rather foamy 40's in my day.

UpNorth-The only problem is you have people that live off of the state via the food stamp card and they do not pay taxes. Also the companies would pass along the tax to us consumers and times are tough now.

Mike- Your welcome.

[the white knight]

To tax cigarettes or not that is the question? I agree with some comments on here like
1) Tax all politicians to sub-poverty levels many times they are worse than the common criminal.
2) Tax all attorneys in the area, thier salaries and winnings, they are like politicians ...not an honest one among them all.
3) Tax the people for saggin pants...no one wants to see your junk hanging out anyway...they all carry a card saying they have paid the tax.
4) Tax everyone south of lake charles and the graywood area they make too much money anyway.
5) Tax people based on thier IQ levels...the highest pay the most tax.
6) Tax any one collecting SSI or food stamps to the point of it is better to hold a job than to collect benefits. Most need to get off the public doles anyway.

[Randy R.]

I think we should tax KPLC every time they come up with a dumb topic. More money is to be made that way!!

[Moi]

As I said before I was censored...Close Reynaud....send them to the zoo where they can swing from the branches and holler "woo woo woo"...