Editor’s Note: The Report of the Commission on Illegal Tobacco containing the “findings and recommendations made by the Commission on Illegal Tobacco on the illegal tobacco market and resulting loss of revenue in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” are attached here. The Commission’s first recommendation is “encouraging The Legislature to dedicate additional funding to tobacco enforcement.”
From: The Boston Globe
By Jack Newsham
Massachusetts should increase spending on law enforcement and establish harsher penalties to cut down on illegal cigarette sales, according to a new report by Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
A state commission convened in 2013 to study ways to cut down on tobacco smuggling released its final report on Sunday. It did not recommend reducing the state’s cigarette tax, which is the second-highest in the nation, but suggested the state could save money by giving law enforcement agencies more money and threaten smugglers and retailers with harsher penalties.
