From: GoLocalWorcester.com
Zeke Wright, GoLocalWorcester Contributor
Cigarette smuggling costs states millions and fuels terrorism abroad, but enforcement efforts are about to be stepped up in Massachusetts.
The state’s Illegal Tobacco Commission expects to issue final recommendations March 1 to tamp down on trafficking.
“People know it’s a growing problem,” said Massachusetts Department of Revenue spokesperson Ann C. Dufresne. That department’s commissioner, Amy Pitter, estimates that anywhere between 8 to 27 percent of cigarettes statewide are smuggled, resulting in an loss of revenue from $60 to $250 million annually.
Smuggling covers a range of activities from smokers shopping over state lines to organized crime rings. The black market is fueled in large part by dramatically different state-by-state tax rates. Last summer, Massachusetts increased its tax to $3.51 a pack — the second-highest rate in the nation. Spending a little extra on gas, a smoker can head to New Hampshire and pay half the tax ($1.78).
Response may include task force, stiffer fines and penalties
Stephen Ryan, the executive director of the New England Convenience Store Association, said serving on the commission had been an educational process. “The illegal trade certainly hurts the legitimate trade among retailers,” Ryan said.
“We’re certainly looking at ways of leveling the playing field.”
Among the proposals the commission is considering: funding for a tobacco task force and increasing enforcement resources, an expansion of the state’s stamping program to other tobacco products, and expanding data-gathering abilities to track tobacco throughout the supply chain.
