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Raising Federal Tobacco Taxes May Greatly Harm the Nation's Small Businesses
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(111 seconds)
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(OPEN):
CONGRESS HAS GONE ON RECESS, FOR THE REST OF AUGUST. BUT, THE
PETROLEUM MARKETERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ISN'T TAKING A
BREAK FROM STANDING UP AGAINST A PROPOSED CIGARETTE-TAX INCREASE.
ANY TAX INCREASE ON CIGARETTES WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON SMALL
BUSINESSES, AND THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR THEM--SAYS DAN
GILLIGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE P-M-A-A--WHICH REPRESENTS
60-THOUSAND CONVENIENCE STORES, GAS STATIONS, AND TRUCK STOPS,
NATIONWIDE...
(GILLIGAN):
"TODAY, CIGARETTES ARE SO OVERTAXED [THAT] MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS
FIND WAYS TO BUY UNTAXED CIGARETTES, FROM NON-TRADITIONAL SOURCES--SUCH
AS THE INTERNET, OR EVEN THE BLACK MARKET. IT MAY SEEM SIMPLE, TO
MANY IN WASHINGTON, TO JUST RAISE TOBACCO TAXES. BUT, IT IS A
REGRESSIVE TAX THAT FORCES MORE OF OUR LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS TO EVADE
TAXES--WHICH LOWERS TAX REVENUES FROM THOSE CUSTOMERS. THE
CIGARETTE-TAX 'WELL' IS EMPTY."
(BRIDGE):
GILLIGAN SAYS THAT--BEYOND FINANCIAL LOSSES--RETAIL EMPLOYEES COULD
FACE EVEN-GREATER DANGER...
(GILLIGAN):
"HIGH CIGARETTE TAXES CAUSE MORE CRIME; CONVENIENCE-STORE
ROBBERIES SKYROCKET, WHEN POLITICIANS RAISE TAXES. THIS PUTS THE
PERSONAL SAFETY OF RETAIL WORKERS--AND THEIR CUSTOMERS--AT RISK.
WHEN ARMED ROBBERIES OCCUR, IT'S TYPICALLY THE STORE CLERK WHO'S THE
ONLY ONE STANDING BETWEEN THE MASKED GUNMAN, AND THE THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS' WORTH OF CIGARETTES. IT'S A SCARY PLACE TO BE--AND,
UNFORTUNATELY, HIGHER CIGARETTE TAXES CAN MAKE THIS AN EVEN-MORE-COMMON
OCCURRENCE."
(BRIDGE):
POLITICIANS WANT TO RAISE THE FEDERAL EXCISE TAX, IN ORDER TO EXPAND A
NATIONAL, GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH-CARE PROGRAM. GILLIGAN SAYS THAT
THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE, FOR MORE-STABLE FUNDING SOURCES...
(GILLIGAN):
"CIGARETTE TAXES ARE AN UNRELIABLE SOURCE OF INCOME. AS
DEMAND FOR TAX-PAID CIGARETTES FALLS, REVENUES COLLECTED FROM EXCISE
TAXES ALSO FALL. THIS CREATES AN UNSTABLE FUNDING SOURCE, FOR AN
EVER-EXPANDING HEALTH-CARE PROGRAM. RATHER THAN TYING FUNDING TO
CIGARETTE SALES, POLITICIANS SHOULD LOOK TOWARD BROADER, MORE-STABLE
SOURCES, TO PAY FOR GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS."
(CLOSE):
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
"P-M-A-A"-DOT-ORG.
