According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, the average price of a pack of Marlboro's in the Chicago will rise to $7.59 starting March 1st. The total tax on a pack will be $4.05, with $2 of it going to Cook County. I'm not going to fully editorialize the issue now, but I see this as a step in the right direction as it will encourage more smokers to either cut back or quit completely thereby reducing healthcare costs incurred as a result of smoking.
IMHO, vices such as alcohol and tobacco should be taxed such that it is uneconomical to make a habit out of them. And this is coming from a guy who really likes to drink beer. But, there comes a point where something is taxed too much and the black market opens up to fill in the void thus causing other problems. The idea is to strike a balance where excessive use is discourage, but at the same time making a black market not profitable enough to seriously exist.
My guess though, is serious smokers in chicago might just make the short trek to northwestern indiana where they can buy in bulk and get packs for less than $4 thereby shunting the cook county tax effort completely. oh well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment