Well, smokers here in California successfully (but narrowly) avoided an overly onerous tax burden last fall but it appears that this tax has reared it's head at the federal level and we need ALL of you out there to hound your Senators and Representatives at the federal level to knock this one down.

Numbers provided by NATO

Now through end of July EVERYONE who enjoys a cigar, pipe (or heaven forbid cigarettes) needs to be hounding their elected federal officials to oppose this unfair taxation.

In an attempt to expand funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) the feds are proposing to increase the federal excise tax on tobacco products. This amounts to an unfair taxation on approximately 10% of the population to bear the burden that should instead be shared across the entire base of taxpayers!

The arguments to point out to your representatives (in our area that would be Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative John Campbell) are as follows:

•  This tax should be broad-based and not placed on about 10% of the American public, many of whom are at the lower end of the economic spectrum (pipe smokers and RYO consumers are more often than not retirees on fixed incomes and cigarette consumption is higher among lower wage-earners than higher-earning individuals)
• The likelihood of this tax to crush many small businesses is extremely high. Most tobacconists are Mom and Pop businesses that operate on a razor thin margin and a increase in the cost of product will force them to either eat the difference or suffer a reduction in sales. California has seen this in the past that attempts to raise revenue by taxing tobacco forced many small businesses around the state to shutter their operations.
• As borne out by past-experience, the taxes generated by the higher rates will NOT NECESSARILY increase taxes collected. Quite the opposite has happened as consumption of legal tobacco products caused a decrease in collected tax revenues. California voters recognized this last fall and narrowly defeated Proposition 86 which would have accomplished the same thing under the guise of "helping the children."
• As more people attempt to avoid the taxation, a growing black-market will emerge. It is no wonder that ALL of California's law enforcement agencies were against Prop. 86. They recognized that this growing black market demand would not only increase the amount of theft (usually on very large scales) but more importantly that organized crime, always ready to take advantage of these types of situations, will rush in to fill the void with either stolen or illegally imported tobacco products.

Make your voice be heard and stop this insane tax! They figured if they can't snow the voters so now they'll attempt to snow the legislators. In a politicians mind, a sound bite showing them "supporting the children" is going to play much better on TV, radio and print than them standing up to protect a small minority of the population from this unfair burden. It is up to us to SHOW them that we are a force to be reckoned with and listened to!