From: Examiner.com
By: Robert Tilford
On November 14, 2012 Congressman Howard Coble exposed how cigarette smuggling is a huge business in America.
“Cigarette trafficking is one of the most lucrative smuggling operations in the United States and around the world. It is estimated that illicit cigarettes account for over 10 percent of the more than 5.7 trillion cigarettes sold globally each year. Here in the United States, approximately 4 billion cigarettes sold each year are illicit. Cigarette smuggling is typically carried out by sophisticated, large-scale criminal organizations that take advantage of the significant disparity between the taxes levied on cigarettes across the States. For example, Mr. Speaker, a pack of cigarettes that costs $13 in a high-tax State like New York will cost only about $5 in a low-tax State such as Virginia.”
On November 14, 2012 Congressman Howard Coble exposed how cigarette smuggling is a huge business in America.
“Cigarette trafficking is one of the most lucrative smuggling operations in the United States and around the world. It is estimated that illicit cigarettes account for over 10 percent of the more than 5.7 trillion cigarettes sold globally each year. Here in the United States, approximately 4 billion cigarettes sold each year are illicit. Cigarette smuggling is typically carried out by sophisticated, large-scale criminal organizations that take advantage of the significant disparity between the taxes levied on cigarettes across the States. For example, Mr. Speaker, a pack of cigarettes that costs $13 in a high-tax State like New York will cost only about $5 in a low-tax State such as Virginia.”
“These differences create a highly lucrative market for individuals to evade the local sales tax and purchase cigarettes in one locality and transport them to another for resale below the market value. Criminal organizations are able to make a profit of as much as $1 million on just a single truckload of illicit cigarettes. State cigarette taxes in the United States have been on the rise since 1992 and have increased more than 65 percent over this period; however, the States’ gross tax revenues have increased by only 35 percent due in significant part to the illicit tobacco trade”, he said.
“Exploiting the price disparity for a single pack of cigarettes between individual States has proved profitable for criminal networks. According to the Justice Department, this illicit activity costs the States and the Federal Government approximately $5 billion each year”, said Congressman Coble (source: Congressional Record http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2012-11-14/pdf/CREC-2012-11-14.pdf ).
See video: Where There’s Cigarette Taxes, There’s Smuggling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxFrZCl-0Ig
