A statewide association of convenience store owners said the recently enacted taxes on cigarettes and tobacco have chased as much as one-third of that business into American Indian reservations, border states or other tax havens.

The state cigarette tax rose July 1 to $4.35 a pack from $2.75 a pack. A tax increase on other tobacco products took effect Aug. 1.

The increase brings the price of cigarettes in the state to the highest levels in the nation, with prices typically near $10 for name brands and a little less for generics.

Some area merchants have found their customers are still buying locally, although they may be switching to the cheaper brands.

The New York Association of Convenience Stores said in a media release that stores are reporting a 25 percent to 35 percent drop in cigarette sales. Stores close to state borders or reservations have seen as much as a 45 percent drop, according to a media release from NYACS.

“New York state has now increased its cigarette excise 691 percent in the past 10 years without closing off readily available channels for dodging that tax,” NYACS President James Calvin said.

Mikki Weeden, manager of the Smokers Choice stores in Sidney and Oneonta, said customers were not happy about the tax increases but are still buying.

“We’ve definitely seen the switch to different products,” Weeden said.

A clerk at the Hometown Deli in Oneonta also reported no noticeable drop-off in cigarette purchases.

“It’s about the same amount,” Jaimey Strauch said.

In the release, Calvin urged the state government to follow through on the collection of taxes from American Indian sales to non-Indian customers. That collection is scheduled to begin Sept. 1.

source: thedailystar.com

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