Cross Border Cigarette Tax
Around here, if you’ve got Georgia on your mind it’s a good bet you’ve got a pack of cigarettes in your pocket.
Or, if you’re Tom Richter a couple of cartons in your car.
He lives in Tallahassee, just twenty minutes down the road. And, he’s stocking up only two miles over the state line, where he’s saving twenty bucks in tax.
Richter says, “You have two or three smokers in a family, then obviously to come over here, probably could save you a few bucks.”
Legally, you’re only allowed to buy two cartons across the border. You’d think that limit would be enough to keep many people from driving up here. But, cigarettes aren’t the only smokin’ hot deal to be had. The cheaper gas and good old southern hospitality can be the clincher.
And convenience stores along the Georgia border are taking advantage of it. Packing their shelves deep with tobacco products.
But, what’s going boom in Georgia is going bust in Florida.
It’s too early to tell, but retailers worry about losing a big chunk of their business.
Even though state law is strict about the two-carton limit… Convenience store owners in Georgia tell us they have no way to enforce it.
Copyright © 2009 Wctv
