[Vision2020] Idaho Is Poorly Managed by a bunch of Ignorant Republican Farmers

[Dick Schmidt]

David,

>From the March 17, 2005 issue of the Missoulian :

"At the moment, tobacco tax revenue is down, not up. That's likely due at least in part to stockpiling in advance of the Jan. 1 effective date for the tax increase. But it's quite possibly going to take several months or longer to get a good read on the amount of money the higher tax is going to produce." 

I guess I can't understand why tribal sales are a problem as your law says that the wholesalers have to do the collecting of the tax. When Washington raised their tax a lot of their people now come to Idaho to buy cigarettes and there are probably people from Montana also coming to Idaho for their cigarettes. If Idaho raised their cigarettes $1.00 a pack it should be a win-win situation for everyone. There may be loop-holes in the laws but smart legislators would plug them!
I understand also that your higher taxes on cigarettes was a voter approved tax passed in November.

Dick Schmidt



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David M. Budge 
  To: Dick Schmidt 
  Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com 
  Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 1:36 AM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Idaho Is Poorly Managed by a bunch of Ignorant Republican Farmers


  Dick Schmidt wrote:

  "They had perfect opportunity to fund education this past week with their CF (those who have been in the military know what CF means) handling of the renewal of the cigarette tax. Idaho has the lowest cigarette tax in the area and they should have added $1.00 on to the tax for a total of $1.57 a pack for cigarettes and used the money for education but no, these people are just too damn stupid!"

  Well Dick,  Montana just instituted such a tax voted in by referendum and guess what?  Cigarette tax revenues are down $1 million for the first two months of 2005 over 2004 before the tax was levied. This is due in no small measure to the fact that, in both Montana and Idaho, we have an abundance if tribal reservations where state taxes are not collected.

  As well, the tobacco tax is highly regressive in that the great preponderance of people who smoke are in the lower income brackets.  So taxing the "poor" seems as though it would make getting an education more difficult for those who need it to lift them up to a higher economic strata.

  I'll grant you that "these people are just too damn stupid!", but there is nothing new in that. As I say, never underestimate the stupidity of your government.

  db
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