alcohol and cigarette taxes- is this not discrimination?

ok, so my question is about the raised taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. this most likely applies to most states but probably not all.
Now here in Maine the tax on consumer goods is 7%
the cigarette tax is about 38% ($2 a pack)
the spirits tax is about 4.50 per gallon

for information on any states taxes refer to this chart http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/variousstaterates-20070626.pdf
I realize this is from 2006 its just as a guidline

Now how is it fair to charge higher rates for certain consumer items others? It just seems to me like discrimination of certain citizens like because your vice is smoking or drinking the government gets to take more money from you. If you did something else for fun (collected matchbox cars, went to the movies, ect.) you don't get charged as much tax.

This to me seems unjust and discriminating, maybe there is something I am missing hear. Regardless what can I do to change this to me, it is just outright unfair

 

welcome to america, everything is unfair

 

dis·crim·i·nate   
[v. dih-skrim-uh-neyt; adj. dih-skrim-uh-nit]
–verb (used without object)
1.
to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit; show partiality

kinda wrong use of words.
but yeah the government needs revenue; like any business, it needs to satisfy its coffers. and if it were to tax something, it should be something like cigarettes that has proven to be terrible for your health. it deters away the buyer. alcohol on the other hand, you're just outnumbered because the populace doesnt view those vices as justifiable.

 

It's completely reasonable. They're luxury items and their economic impact from everyone in the general economy is huge in its negativity due to their health consequences.

 

but why does it matter if they are horrible for you. I understand that it costs a lot of money in healthcare costs from smokers, but why not force the ciggarette companies to change the hundreds of chemicals they mix in with them instead, they forced four locos to change their formula
and boguskyle I guess I don't gather on the discrimination do they not make a distinction against smoking and drinking in order to charge us more rather then on on the fact we are all consumers

 

Where did you get the idea that government can't and/or shouldn't discriminate?

 

Well the cigarette companies work for the government. The government supports it, I would imagine if they didn't, it would have been illegal long ago. I can only imagine all the documents regarding such topics not released to the public,.. what might happen.

 

well fuck this country burn it all down ill use all of our oil we stole from the middle east, pay my two dollars tax on a damn pack of ciggarettes and use my free matches to light one up for the good of all mankind

 

Completely, but they are "sins", so it's okay.

Just like the government discriminates against whites, but they are the majority so..

 

it matters completely if its horrible for you. it changes the verdict on the debate over legality and stigma. thats why marijuana legalization advocacy has made pretty good success so far, because the health facts change things.
and the second part is a great point. i agree with you, but like broony says, the business and gov are in cahoots.

im saying that descrimination is based on the distinction or difference alone and for no rational reason. which isnt the case for cigarettes and alcohol.

 

Don't you think there are high taxes on these goods in other countries too?

 

It's $11.19 where I live a pack, now the tobacco companies don't care what they put in the cigarettes, I can taste the flame retardant.

Out of all the stuff I take I've always had a real problem kicking the tobacco habit.

Anyways, the US government won't touch alcohol though, they are still feeling the pain of the failed social experiment called the 18th amendment, unless someone has an update on alcohol tax stats.

I know they are starting with wanting to tax everything and anything that's sugar base, like pop, candy.

Of course the way we're tax so much here in the US you'd figure this sorry ass government could install much better faucet water filtration systems. I've heard so much horror stories on faucet water from human feces, to lead. Fucking disgusting state of affairs.

I mean isn't this where tax is suppose to be spent on, roads, schools, water fluoridation safety?

This is probably the reason if you travel anywhere through a different area than your own in the US and drink the local tap water you'll shit your pants.

 

Why does there have to be a smartassed reply to every post on this site ever? Of course I know other countries have taxes, where do you think we got them from?

 

Just another pitfall for being addicted

 

Because there are so many dumbass posts for them to respond to.

 

Smoking isn't dangerous because of additives in cigarettes, that's BS from natural cigarette companies. Tobacco itself is dangerous, most of those chemicals are formed through chemical processes as the tobacco and what's naturally in it is combusted.

And they didn't change four loco's formula, it's still alcohol, now it's just with no caffeine, it's still basically as bad for you.

 

I don't have a problem with a tax on cigarettes and alcohol. Both of these, cigarettes especially, aid in driving up healthcare costs. Its completely reasonable to use high taxes as both a deterent and a way to offset the cost of healthcare due to smoking related diseases.

Of course, the government is not neccessarily spending the extra tax on healthcare or anything that could prove beneficial to the very smokers that pay these taxes, but no one ever claimed the US government knew how to spend taxes efficiently.

 

Our government is better at it than a lot of others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_public_debt

 

I call them user fees

 

• 
  
  • Defense and security: In 2010, some 20 percent of the budget, or $715 billion, will pay for defense and security-related international activities. The bulk of the spending in this category reflects the underlying costs of the Department of Defense and other security-related activities. The total also includes the cost of supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is expected to total $172 billion in 2010.
  • Social Security: Another 20 percent of the budget, or $708 billion, will pay for Social Security, which provided retirement benefits averaging $1,117 per month to 36 million retired workers (and their eligible dependents) in December 2009. Social Security also provided survivors’ benefits to 6.4 million surviving children and spouses of deceased workers and disability benefits to 9.7 million disabled workers and their eligible dependents in December 2009.
  • Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP: Three health insurance programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — will together account for 21 percent of the budget in 2010, or $753 billion. Nearly two-thirds of this amount, or $468 billion, will go to Medicare, which provides health coverage to around 46 million people who are over the age of 65 or have disabilities. The remainder of this category funds Medicaid and CHIP, which in a typical month in 2010 will provide health care or long-term care to about 64 million low-income children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Both Medicaid and CHIP require matching payments from the states.

Two other categories together account for another fifth of federal spending:

• Safety net programs: About 14 percent of the federal budget in 2010, or $482 billion, will support programs that provide aid (other than health insurance or Social Security benefits) to individuals and families facing hardship.

• 
  
  These programs include: the refundable portion of the earned-income and child tax credits, which assist low- and moderate-income working families through the tax code; programs that provide cash payments to eligible individuals or households, including Supplemental Security Income for the elderly or disabled poor and unemployment insurance; various forms of in-kind assistance for low-income families and individuals, including food stamps, school meals, low-income housing assistance, child-care assistance, and assistance in meeting home energy bills; and various other programs such as those that aid abused and neglected children.
  
  A Center analysis shows that such programs kept approximately 15 million Americans out of poverty in 2005 and reduced the depth of poverty for another 29 million people. (Such programs likely kept even more Americans out of poverty since the recession began. For example, seven provisions of the Recovery Act enacted in February 2009 kept more than 6 million additional people out of poverty in 2009, according to a Center analysis.)
  [*]Interest on the national debt: The federal government must make regular interest payments on the money it has borrowed to finance past deficits — that is, on the national debt, which is projected to reach $9 trillion by the end of fiscal 2010. In 2010, these interest payments (net of some interest income) will claim $209 billion, or about 6 percent of the budget.
  

• Benefits for federal retirees and veterans: This subcategory combines the veterans' benefits and services function (700) and the federal employee retirement and disability subfunction (602, which is part of the income security function).
• Education: The education subcategory combines three subfunctions of the education, training, employment, and social services function: elementary, secondary, and vocational education; higher education; and research and general educational aids (subfunctions 501, 502, and 503 respectively).
• Scientific and medical research : This subcategory consists of the general science, space, and technology function (250), and the health research and training subfunction (552).
• Transportation : This subcategory consists of the entire transportation function (400).
• Non-security international: This subcategory consists of the international affairs function (150) except for international security assistance, which is included with defense, above.
• All other: This subcategory consists of all other federal expenditures.