I am sure I will get some flack for this. I hope this is not over turned, yes I am fully aware that this would mean our taxes would more then likely go up. As I work in a business effected by Governors Pawleent (fee) tax on cigarettes I was not for it in the first place.
There always seem to be an attack on cigarettes and alcohol when it comes to budget time. To me this is not right, I am not a smoker and don't drink much either however this attack does no good to those company's that make these products they just increase the price of there products and the consumers of these items are the losers. Yes I know smoking is not good for you, but you will never stop those that want to smoke from doing it.
I know that there was a lot of talk of this (fee) tax being illegal in the first place. We will now see what the courts say as it goes father.
ST. PAUL - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and lawmakers are looking at a $400 million hole in the state's budget after a new 75-cents-a-pack "health impact fee" on cigarettes was declared illegal and unconstitutional by a judge Tuesday.
Ramsey County District Judge Michael Fetsch said the fee, which some legislators called an ill-disguised tax, violates terms of a multibillion-dollar court settlement the state and three tobacco companies struck in 1998.
"The state is bound, like any other party, to the contracts to which it freely and knowingly enters," Fetsch said of the court settlement.
For smokers, it was unclear whether the ruling would ever result in a decrease in the cost of cigarettes. Pawlenty said he will seek to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
read the whole story at http://duluthnews.com
Merry Christmas
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