Today marks the first day of the new cigarette tax, and as I prepare myself for the inevitable trips to Georgia to buy cartons, I wonder how the government ever managed to pass such a discriminatory tax. Ignoring the obvious problems with covertly making an activity illegal through taxation (Stamp Act, anyone?), I'm going to focus on the tangible consequences of this tax.
First, the people most affected will undoubtedly be the working poor. The middle and upper class will have little problem adjusting to this, but with family budgets tightening the lower class will be forced to either quit smoking, or sacrifice another expense. So the financial burden imposed by this tax will undoubtedly be placed on those whose finances are already stretched to the breaking point.
This is also a blatantly anti-capitalistic government action. The sales tax applies to all goods, including cigarettes. Now in addition to the sales tax, cigarettes will be taxed again.
By placing a heavier tax burden on one product the government is directly discouraging use. Local gas stations and convenience stores rely heavily on cigarette sales, especially since their profits from gasoline sales have been greatly reduced. Mobil might not go under, but the guy who owns the Mobil down the street might lose his business if sales drop.
In an economic climate where creating new jobs is the main goal, why are we implementing a tax that will put a specific group of people in danger of losing their jobs?
