New Yorkers can’t have it both ways on tobacco taxes
New Yorkers are used to getting nickel-and-dimed to death from their state government.
In fact, it has become the state’s favored way to create more revenue.
From fishing and hunting fees to taxes on just about anything that moves, governors and Legislatures have favored the small stuff to grab greater amounts of money to pay for ever-expanding state spending over the past 20 years.
Those who smoke know the scheme. They pay among the highest taxes in the nation at $2.75 a pack, and if Gov. Paterson has his way, they’ll pay even more. He’s proposing to raise the state tax on cigarettes again another dollar. Add in the higher federal taxes enacted in the past year and cigarettes now average at least $7 a pack. That’s over $80 a week for a pack-a-day person on one of the most unhealthy things you can do to your body.
Many health advocates support higher tobacco taxes as a way to spur people to quit, figuring some people will decide to give up the habit for financial reasons if the health dangers aren’t compelling enough. But for many others hopelessly hooked on smoking, it just means more money out of their pocket.
Sadly, the state appears to want it both ways. They claim they want people to quit smoking, but don’t mind using tobacco taxes as a source of revenue.
And while Paterson is ready to jack the tax on a pack of smokes by a buck, funds for tobacco-cessation programs in the state are being cut. That’s hypocrisy.
Adding another dollar of taxes onto each pack isn’t going to expand the ranks of former smokers. If you can’t quit when the price is a jaw-dropping $7 or $8, what’s another buck? Maybe that’s what Paterson is betting on as well.
But Paterson’s targets go beyond smokers, a group that doesn’t have a whole lot of friends in Albany. He’s proposing a number of other taxes and fees as well, including a so-called sugar tax on beverage syrups and bottled drinks and powders. On face value, it’s not a bad idea, given alarming hikes in obesity among younger people that health officials blame in part on sugary drinks that pack a caloric punch. But again, is the tax to deter consumption or an easy revenue source?
Maybe it’s time for Albany to play it straight with taxpayers. Whether the state picks your pocket in the convenience store, in your fishing license or out of your paycheck, the effect is the same. If the governor and Legislature don’t have the gumption to cut spending enough to match existing revenues, then raise income taxes.
They’re hoping you won’t recognize that while they haven’t taken any more money out of your pay, they raised your taxes just the same.
Tags: smoking warning
