In April, the Federal Government sprung a surprise 25 per cent tax rise, which has been credited with 30 per cent more people trying to quit smoking. Two months after the tax increase, a Galaxy survey of 1258 smokers found 38 per cent had tried to give up, compared with 29 per cent in the three months before the price rise. A further 29 per cent had cut down and 9 per cent had stopped. Flinders University smoking cessation expert Associate Profe ... Jump to full article >>

DANVILLE, Va. — Dozens have a new job in Danville, thanks to a tobacco company opening its doors. JTI Leaf Services opened a new facility in Danville that will procure and process U.S. leaf tobacco. According to a statement from the company, the opening created 32 full-time and 140 seasonal jobs. “We’ve worked hard over the last year to get the facility up and running,” said Steve Daniels, President of JTI Leaf Services. “We’ve been ... Jump to full article >>

A New York legislator has inserted himself into the judicial process over the state’s controversial plan to force American Indian businesses to collect state taxes on cigarettes they sell on sovereign Indian land to non-Indian customers. State Sen. Carl Kruger has told the Hon. Richard J. Arcara, the presiding judge in a lawsuit filed by the Seneca Nation of Indians against Gov. David Paterson and other state officials, that “there is no iss ... Jump to full article >>

Father Jacques Labelle spies them at night from his rectory window, and later often has to fix the damage they leave behind. Perched on the edge of the St. Lawrence River, his Precious Blood Catholic Church boasts a picturesque setting — and ideal conditions for the army of cigarette runners who work the unique neighbourhood. Smugglers routinely unload their contraband on the church’s concrete dock, nicely hidden from the nearby highway, the ... Jump to full article >>

New Zealanders are smoking 1.3 billion fewer cigarettes a year than ten years ago, according to data produced by Statistics New Zealand for the Smokefree Coalition. In the last quarter, since tobacco’s tax rise, New Zealanders consumed 280 million manufactured tobacco products, and 243 tonnes of loose tobacco. Smokefree Coalition Director Dr Prudence Stone said last year’s fourth quarter result was 757 million or so cigarettes, whil ... Jump to full article >>

For the second time in recent history, a correctional officer at the Federal Medical Center has pleaded guilty to taking money from inmates in exchange for bringing contraband into the facility. Cheryl Wheeler, 53, of Wabasha, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to accepting about $5,000 in bribes from relatives of two inmates in exchange for supplying those inmates with tobacco. She pleaded guilty to one count of bribery ... Jump to full article >>

Black-market cigarettes are costing many states hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost tax revenue. And the lucrative, illicit trade is attracting violent criminal gangs that can be lethally ruthless. The rewards, and the risks, of dealing in contraband cigarettes became quite clear recently in northern Virginia, says Capt. Dennis Wilson of the Fairfax County Police Department. Undercover investigators working with his department “ ... Jump to full article >>

Every Native American tribe in New York State now has at least temporary protection from state taxation of cigarette sales to non-Indians. U. S. District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn, based in Albany, ruled Thursday that the state cannot tax cigarette sales by any tribe until at least Oct. 1. Kahn’s ruling came after the St. Regis Mohawks filed an action in his court similar to one filed in Buffalo by the Senecas and Cayugas. In Buffalo, District Ju ... Jump to full article >>

New York City investigators say cigarette dealers at the Poospatuck Indian reservation have been caught on undercover videotape illegally selling untaxed smokes for re-sale at city bodegas. One alleged seller at a Mastic smokeshop says on tape “the less I know, the better” during the sting operation, part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ongoing fight to stop reservations statewide from selling untaxed cigarettes that end up in the city, which ... Jump to full article >>

A new report shows that the “tax gap” – the amount of uncollected tax – increased by £4billion in 2008/9 to £42billion. The level of unpaid tax is now at its highest for more than five years. The increase was also the largest since at least 2004/5. The news comes after public anger at widespread errors in HMRC’s records, leading to many people paying the wrong amount of tax. The official report, “Measuring Tax Gaps 2010”, is the ... Jump to full article >>