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

[David M. Budge]

Dick, I'll concede that it may be premature to assess the final impact 
on tax collections.  However, if you're interested, The Cato Institution 
has done extensive analysis on the impact of tobacco tax, revenue 
collections and black market cigarette sales..  With that I show my 
libertarian bias. 

As for Montana law, I'm not sure how it's circumvented, but cigarettes 
on the S-K reservation are significantly less than they are off the 
reservation.  Perhaps that has been a consequence of the reported 
stockpiling as well.  There's no way for me to know.

Having said that, you did not address my (libertarian) concern about the 
regressive nature of the tax.

db

Dick Schmidt wrote:

> 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 <mailto:dave at davebudge.com>
>     To: Dick Schmidt <mailto:dickschmidt at moscow.com>
>     Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com <mailto: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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