Nebraska News
A proposal to nearly triple the state tax on cigarettes would raise an estimated $111 million at a time when Nebraska faces a projected revenue shortfall of nearly $1 billion, according to state Sen. Mark Gloor of Grand Island.
The current tax of 64 cents on a pack of cigarettes would jump to $1.99 per pack under Gloor’s plan. He said the measure, which he also considers a public health bill, would also generate another $4.5 million in new revenue from related tobacco products......Continue reading.
Another bill being introduced would require protesters to stand farther from the funerals they're protesting than already prescribed under Nebraska law. State Sen. Bob Krist, of Omaha, introduced the bill Wednesday. It would require funeral protesters to stand 500 feet away from the service--200 feet more than state law now requires.
This bill is in reaction to the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church which protests the funerals of soldiers around the country contending that U.S. soldiers and others are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.
The current tax of 64 cents on a pack of cigarettes would jump to $1.99 per pack under Gloor’s plan. He said the measure, which he also considers a public health bill, would also generate another $4.5 million in new revenue from related tobacco products......Continue reading.
Another bill being introduced would require protesters to stand farther from the funerals they're protesting than already prescribed under Nebraska law. State Sen. Bob Krist, of Omaha, introduced the bill Wednesday. It would require funeral protesters to stand 500 feet away from the service--200 feet more than state law now requires.
This bill is in reaction to the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church which protests the funerals of soldiers around the country contending that U.S. soldiers and others are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.
Are you a smoker who voted for Republican Tea Partiers in the last election because they ran on a platform of not raising taxes? If you are then I would be pissed if I were you because those very politicians who you elected because they said they wouldn't raise taxes are now raising taxes. It's obvious the Tea Partiers can't be trusted to keep their word any more than other politicians.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a smoker but I have several friends who are and most of them are in the lower income brackets. Most of them voted for the Republican Tea Partiers who chanted the mantra, "No raising of taxes," all the way into office. And now those very politicians plan to raise cigarette tax by a whopping 66%! It's an underhanded way of raising taxes on poor people. Is this what the tea party is about? There are better and fairer ways of dealing with the deficit problem than making poor people pay for it.
But tobacco has been labeled as evil and that's why these politicians feel they can go back on their word and not only raise taxes on smokers but raise them astronomically. If smoking is evil then if any smoker complains then they are automatically evil and don't deserve to be heard. Thanks for the vote, smokers, but now we're going to give you the shaft.
Whether smoking is evil or not is not the point. That's not a valid excuse for lying. What pisses me off is that the Republican Tea Partiers said they wouldn't raise taxes and now they are raising taxes. They lied. They lied to get our votes and get into power. They have shown unequivocably that they cannot be trusted.