Jump to full article: Aiken (SC) Standard, 2009-03-24
Intro: South Carolina's low cigarette tax makes it a magnet for black market runners.
Since 1977, the state's tax has stayed at 7 cents per pack. That's 10 cents less than the next lowest state (Missouri) and $2.68 per pack less than the state with the highest tax (New York). Considering that the average tax nationwide is $1.21, buying cigarettes in South Carolina and trucking them to another state can be very lucrative.
There are two ways smugglers operate, said Earl Woodham, spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office in North and South Carolina. . . .
Woodham said the smuggling problems won't change even if South Carolina adds a proposed 50 cent per pack tax. The difference is still so great that the state would need to raise it to $4 per pack to stop the black market trade to New York.
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