From: Bloomberg/BNA
Law enforcement officials in at least three states have been strictly enforcing laws on cigarette trafficking and tobacco tax evasion, prompting the arrests of several suspected cigarette traffickers and seizure of contraband cigarettes and other materials.
Cigarette smuggling has been on the rise in recent years, partly because of an increase in cigarette and tobacco tax rates. State and local tobacco taxes raise over $17 billion in revenue each year, according to revenue data compiled by the Tax Policy Center. However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimates that between $7 and $10 billion in federal and state tax revenue is lost each year because of smuggling.
