OT - Attention All Cigar Smokers!!

[stephen wilson]

I see your point. I do smoke Cigars occasionally. It suppose use taxes would be better if spread across all "non-essential" goods, not just the "bad" ones. Hell, I think a "flat tax" is a good idea, combined with use taxes. What's more fair then a percentage of what you earn? Most of us work hard, but some are compensated much better for it.

[Lil bastard]

The universal inevitabilities are Death and Taxes, no question about that.

But, we're not talking about a New tax here, just a disproportionate Tax Increase.

Seems to me that the 'New Guy's' priorities are a little messed up. Tax increases, Abortion, Stem Cell research, Food Stamp increases, Peace Treaties w/ N. Korea (or otherwise playing right into their hands) IMHO, shouldn't necessarily be #1 on the Runway when the Dow is below 7k and unemployment is the worst since the Great Depression.

But, that's a political discussion and my only purpose was to give some of our guys a heads-up about a significant price increase coming soon so they can maybe save a few bucks.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

I see your point. I do smoke Cigars occasionally. It suppose use taxes would be better if spread across all "non-essential" goods, not just the "bad" ones. Hell, I think a "flat tax" is a good idea, combined with use taxes. What's more fair then a percentage of what you earn? Most of us work hard, but some are compensated much better for it.

Fair has nothing to do with the US Tax system. The folks who take the most from the govt normally pay in little or nothing. So, fariness is in the eye of the beholder.

The great shell game of the govt is to never have anyone question them about what they are up to. If you have a strong stomach, just look at how the feds spending always goes up, irrespective of what else happens in the world.

My basic question is, WHY IS THAT?

Just a thought.

[sd_boxster]

Regardless of your political affiliation, it has to chafe you that a staggering percentage (the number is hotly debated, but it's somewhere between 40 and 50 percent) of "tax units" (single people or married couples) pay no taxes or receive a refund of 100% or more of tax they do pay.

That means that roughly 50% of eligible voters pay no tax, yet get a say in how the income of the other half gets spent.

Rather than just outlawing tobacco, slapping another tax on this non-necessity is another way to get into our wallets.

I own my own business. I pay tax on any money I have left over at the end of the year. I pay tax on the money I pay my employees. I pay "use" tax - every year - on stuff I already own. I pay property tax - every year - for the privilege of living in the home I bought with post-tax dollars. If I buy gas or tobacco, (I do buy the former, I don't the latter, but I digress), I pay a HUGE percentage in taxes. Finally, if I die and leave my money to someone else, it gets taxed yet again.

I am a patriot at heart, and I think the USA is a fantastic place to live. However, hearing that the "rich pay no taxes" makes me want to start swinging a tire iron.

The irony of paying a higher cigar tax is that money will now get burned up twice - once when you fire up your Ashton or Don Carlos, and again when the tax money gets frittered away on some social program you won't qualify for because your income is too high.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by sd_boxster

Regardless of your political affiliation, it has to chafe you that a staggering percentage (the number is hotly debated, but it's somewhere between 40 and 50 percent) of "tax units" (single people or married couples) pay no taxes or receive a refund of 100% or more of tax they do pay.

That means that roughly 50% of eligible voters pay no tax, yet get a say in how the income of the other half gets spent.

Rather than just outlawing tobacco, slapping another tax on this non-necessity is another way to get into our wallets.

I own my own business. I pay tax on any money I have left over at the end of the year. I pay tax on the money I pay my employees. I pay "use" tax - every year - on stuff I already own. I pay property tax - every year - for the privilege of living in the home I bought with post-tax dollars. If I buy gas or tobacco, (I do buy the former, I don't the latter, but I digress), I pay a HUGE percentage in taxes. Finally, if I die and leave my money to someone else, it gets taxed yet again.

I am a patriot at heart, and I think the USA is a fantastic place to live. However, hearing that the "rich pay no taxes" makes me want to start swinging a tire iron.

The irony of paying a higher cigar tax is that money will now get burned up twice - once when you fire up your Ashton or Don Carlos, and again when the tax money gets frittered away on some social program you won't qualify for because your income is too high.

I am totally with you. The agony is that even though we pay for most of what is spent on others, we still get pissed on by Obama for not paying our fair share. That is such a joke. You could at least say, "hey lets tell the truth, if these birds don't keep making the jobs and dough, you slackers are done for."

It will never happen btw. It is kind of sad.

[stephen wilson]

What income bracket pays zero taxes, or receives 100% refund? They must be making $30K or less.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

What income bracket pays zero taxes, or receives 100% refund? They must be making $30K or less.

This link should help.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1410.html

[Brucelee]

BTW- that data shows what a myth the issue of a middle class income tax cut is.

If 32% of folks are paying NOTHING, and you decide that you will cut the taxes of the BULK of the tax payers, HOW much money must you take from the so-called RICH??????

Give me a break. The non-tax payers will vote their interests which is to keep themselves as non-taxpayers.

God Bless America.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

What income bracket pays zero taxes, or receives 100% refund? They must be making $30K or less.

Where are these people to be found? ZERO Taxes??
I don't think you are referrin' to our state. I don't know anyone making $50K (80% of this country) or $30K or less who doesn't pay property tax, sales tax, fuel tax, cell phone taxes, toll roads, etc.

I really get annoyed when I hear this notion that any working person in this country doesn't contribute to their local and state govts. There isn't a day the middle class and lower class don't dig into their pockets to pay for schools, roads, and state pensions.


I wish we would have seen more tax outrage when we were in the process of doubling our national debt in the span of less than eight years. Financing ten trillion in debt to the tune of hundreds of billion a year on wasted interest doesn't come from pork barrel spending cuts alone. Either cut entitlements or raise taxes.

Below are pallets of $100 bills. Now multiply the pic on the bottom by 5.
That's how much we spent but haven't paid for yet since 2000.


$1 Billion



$1 Trillion




" Don't tax HIM, Don't tax ME, tax that fellow behind the tree..."

^ whoever said that must not have been long U.S. treasuries....

[stephen wilson]

I'd have to agree, when I was single and earning $75K a year, I payed a large percentage of income taxes, with little refunded. Much more than my married co-workers. That link still doesn't give any earnings levels for these non-tax payers. I'd bet they're our large group of poverty level earners.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

...I wish we would have seen more tax outrage when we were in the process of doubling our national debt in the span of less than eight years...

Uh... it seems as if 'your' guy is presiding over the single largest deficit in ALL of American history! At least that's how the History Books will record it!

Sure... you can blame it on the last guy... but if you peek beneath the skirt, you'll see a LOT of pork-barrel, ear-marked spending on items which fit a social adjenda and aren't truly relevent to the troubles at hand, and in fact, detract from it.

Increasing Food Stamps (I don't recall seeing any present Food Stamp recipients starving on the streets, or running around with extended bellies - seems increasing Food Stamp subsidies targets a particular voting demographic - , of course any resemblance is surely coincidental)... and as several learned economic academics have cited in the last 10 days, the Administration AND the congress ought to be targeting the economy EXCLUSIVELY and not cloud the picture (and expend energies) with partisan, special interest issues and programs - aka Equal Pay for Women, Stem Cell Research, Partisan re-districting, Cigar Taxes, Abortion, and so on. It's about the ECONOMY STUPID!

Get that straight and then go off and satisfy your personal adjenda! Without a strong and growing economy, everything else is for naught!! All IMHO of course...