Tobacco.org

• LETTER: Raise cigarette tax to increase revenue 

In a column on May 18, Michelle Malkin wrote that the villains creating the opportunity for cigarette smuggling are the states with the highest tax on tobacco. She postulates it is only the high tax that permits this activity, the profits of which have allegedly been diverted to the terrorist group, Hezbollah. The real reason for smuggling is the huge difference in price between the states with the high tax, including New York ($1.50), Connecticut ($1.11) and Michigan ($.75) and those with the lowest, Virginia ($.025), Kentucky ($.03) and North Carolina ($.05). To proclaim the states with the lower taxes are innocent and those with the higher taxes are guilty represents the crassest form of bias. The average tax for all states is 48 cents. . .

All but two states mandate each pack of cigarettes have a tax stamp on it. This was true in North Carolina until the legislature repealed the stamp in 1994. Reinstating the tax stamp would help stymie smuggling.

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