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I’m an old timer.
I remember in Canada when a carton of cigs was under $10.
When leaving a voicemail message for someone (me particularly), please state your name, day and time of call and be VERY brief in your message. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT have a 10 minute conversation on the voicemail.
Oh wow, $11 cigs? Damn. And for the most part it’s my friends who are hurting most financially who smoke. Kind of like the lottery – a sneaky tax on poor people.
When I started smoking in 1993 cigs were less than $2 a pack (I quit about 9 years ago). I’m sure some of the old timers on the OT remember when they were under a buck.
“One Indian chief told the Times that trying to collect taxes from the reservation would be considered an act of war.”
Anyone ever been on a reservation??? They are like living in Albania or some other third world country.
BOOOOOO F-CK YOU NEW YORK!
The state Senate approved another budget extender bill which will keep Albany up and running for the next week, but which also included a $1.60 hike of the states tax on cigarettes, bringing the total state tax per pack up to $4.35. The bill passed the Senate in a 32-29 party-line vote and passed the Assembly 77-64. Republicans, who previously vowed not to pass any bill which included tax raises, were upset. Deputy Minority Leader Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) told the Daily News, “This is just a prelude of what you are going to see in the big ugly. You are going to see spending and taxes, everything that you shouldn’t do in this economy.”
The price of an average pack in the city will reach nearly $11 when the taxes are put into effect on August 1st, and the cost of smokeless tobacco will jump from $.96 an ounce to nearly $2 an ounce. Starting in September, the state will also begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian reservations to off-reservation visitors. One Indian chief told the Times that trying to collect taxes from the reservation would be considered an act of war.
The taxes could raise anywhere from $290 million to $440 million for the state, helping to close the gaping $9.2 billion budget. Lawmakers have agreed on 70% of the budget so far, but Albany could shut down as early as next week if yet another budget extender bill isn’t passed. Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver said he has confidence in the progress Albany is making with budget negotiations: “I think they’re going well—maybe a little slower than I anticipated last week, but I think they’re going well.” Wow, we’d really hate to see what negotiations look like when they’re going poorly!
“Existing home sales fell 2.2 per cent month over month in May to an annual rate of 5.66m units from an upwardly-revised 5.79m units in April”
This is very significant because home sales were supposed to be up in anticipation of the end of the homebuyer tax credit.
South Africa leading France 2-0 in the World Cup.
France is about to go home…
I love the sun.
The more the better.
Most of my dates don’t have this problem.