Cigarette taxes are up - so is smuggling

When Maryland doubled the cigarette tax to $2 a pack, some residents may have found a reason to quit.

[Jeff Davis]

The state of Maryland will NEVER WIN! Its like the war on drugs. You can't stop commerce. Virginia is a BIG state. Will Franchot have snitches and police @ every state line spying on drivers with MD plates. I can't wait until next election.

[Fed up in Towson]

Hahahahah! IDIOTS!

Beware ... we're headed down the same road with the gas taxes, and the same liberals who goaded everyone to "bury your car" for years are now screaming about declining gas tax revenues.

The MD government needs to learn to do more with less, like the rest of us in the REAL WORLD have to. They're just way too free with our money.

[FLDZC]

In 2003 and 2004, the French government imposed a 42% tax increase on cigarettes, which lead to a whopping 32% reduction in cigarette sales, a world precedent. Since the law applied to all departments (states) within France, the only smuggling has been between France and bordering countires (Spain, Andorra, Italy) where cigarettes are about half price compared to France. A pack of Marlboro's in France cost 5.4 euros ($8.40!), 1.3 euros in tax-free Andorra, and 2.7 euros in Spain. I was in Barcelona last month and returned to France with two cartons. They're gone now, and I have returned to smoking my pipe!

[TLA]

I haven't bought cigs in Maryland this year. A monthly trip to VA is worth the time and drive, even at $4 a gallon. Congrats, Maryland, you've pushed regular people to be criminals. Criminals who don't feel bad about either.

[Etek]

When did the possession of more than two packs of cigarettes without a 'Peoples Republic of Maryland' Tax Stamp become illegal? The Stamp Act was the reason we had a revolution and kicked the British out. Time to have an 'Annapolis Tobacco Party' and kicj O'Malley and the Democrats out.

[Dave]

Fat people are next.

Can't these idiots reign in spending just a little.

Tax, tax, tax.

[ChukK]

What a joke. How come you can drive across the border get out of state gas and bring it into the state, but you can't buy cigs and bring them in legally? You still aren't paying the MD gas tax so are you smuggling gas?

You can go to Deleware and buy clothes tax free and bring them back without any problems. It's still lost revenue out of State. Uh, hello Marty, WAKE UP! "lost revenue"....

And hiding the cig tax under the banner of "it will keep children from smoking" just makes me sick. People are going to smoke. We all need some sort of release from the pressures of day to day living. You thought that forcing them out of the bars and into the cold and rain was going to make people quit. Drive around on any given weekend and see how many people are smoking outside of bars. Doesn't look like the number has dropped to me.

[Tired of OMaryland]

i can see it now o'malley storm troopers kicking in peoples doors to see if you only have cigs purchased in md. well i only hope it is the brainless wonders who voted him an his kind in. i guess when they raise the candy tax our children will be in danger from crossing state lines with an illegal milky way bar not purchased with the high md state tax stamp. what a joke this state is becoming.

[Sandtown]

"State officials say they would be hard-pressed to blame the sharp rise in smuggled smokes solely on higher taxes..." State officials are full of you know what. Too bad he got caught.

[Anon]

Does anyone else think this caption is a little strange? "With giving down, Tim Vaughn works amid empty shelves at the Maryland Food Bank warehouse.(Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum / August 13, 2008)" ... um empty shelves? Is the Maryland Food Bank smuggling cigarettes now???

[ChukK]

Anon wrote:

Does anyone else think this caption is a little strange? "With giving down, Tim Vaughn works amid empty shelves at the Maryland Food Bank warehouse.(Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum / August 13, 2008)" ... um empty shelves? Is the Maryland Food Bank smuggling cigarettes now???

maybe they're storing them there? They ought to sell the cigs and buy some food for the Md Foodbank.

[Joe]

Anon wrote:

Does anyone else think this caption is a little strange? "With giving down, Tim Vaughn works amid empty shelves at the Maryland Food Bank warehouse.(Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum / August 13, 2008)" ... um empty shelves? Is the Maryland Food Bank smuggling cigarettes now???

Maybe the Maryland Food bank is giving cigarettes to poor people.

[Richard]

You gotta love the Sun, they write an article without really looking at the figures.
1. Tax revenue up 27%- but that is for the fiscal year, tax increase didn't take effect until half way thru.
2. They based the value of the smuggled cigarettes @ maryland pkg retail, not VA ctn retail.

[Surf52]

What moron didn't see this coming?

When Italy tried this years ago, smugglers used small fast vessels to smuggle cigarettes ashore, Giving us the term "Cigarette Boat".

[Rock]

This State is a joke, so what else is new. I buy all my ciggs along with all of my friends out of State also and will continue to do so. This sorry State gets enough of my hard earned cash to throw away on welfare programs, etc. I'm keping everything I possibly can out of MD's hands. Just remember all you cry babies who wanted to raise cig taxes, when the State wakes up and realizes they are losing tax dollars they will simply tax something else that non-smokers use or buy. Such a sorry STATE of affairs...

[Jeff Davis]

What about when I buy cigarettes in another state or even duty free? Will MOM step in and nab me?

[Slater]

This is what they are wasting their time on? What a waste of resources. How about cracking down on real criminals!

[Carol]

I go to Delaware on a regular basis for cigarettes - $20.00 cheaper a carton adds up quickly even with gas the way it is - just have to bring back multiple cartons and break the law to make it worthwhile.

[Surf52]

Jeff Davis wrote:

What about when I buy cigarettes in another state or even duty free? Will MOM step in and nab me?

Only if you tell him. I don't think he reads this forum though. Even his hide isn't that tough.

[Sam]

I live in Oklahoma. Last night I smoked in a bar. Then I drove home on the 75 mph freeway. Blue states/red states: They have drawbacks and pluses but isn't it odd that liberals--for years claiming they were trying to protect us from a conservative-imposed agenda--are now the ones taking more and more personal freedoms away. I used to be a Democrat just like my parents but no more. In fact you frequently find people that shift political allegiances from the left to the right, but rarely the other way around. I'm sorry--but unless you’re a man wanting to marry your boyfriend, a woman wanting a late-term abortion or a loser looking to stay on welfare there aren't too many other reasons to support the Democrats.