We all know the answer to that, don’t we? State and federal governments are addicted to the sales taxes that cigarettes generate. Without those tobacco taxes, they couldn’t keep building their house of cards.
At least the Chinese government is honest about it. Here’s how the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports it:
Officials in a county in central China have been told to smoke nearly a quarter of a million packs of locally made cigarettes annually or risk being fined, state media reports…
Departments that fail to meet their targets will be fined, the report said.
“The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax,” said Chen Nianzu, a member of the Gong’an cigarette market supervision team, according to the paper.
Light up another ciggie, Americans. President Obama needs the money for another bogus social scheme.
Source: ABC via Tim Blair
