Albany – The first six weeks of meteoric cigarette tax rates in New York showed a plunge in sales at convenience stores statewide, mainly because most smokers are finding ways to dodge the tax altogether, reports the New York Association of Convenience Stores On July 1, Governor Paterson and the Legislature increased the cigarette excise tax from $2.75 a pack to $4.35, the highest state tax rate in the country. Just as NYACS predicted, the ... Jump to full article >>

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Pub drinkers have been warned to brace themselves for higher beer prices next year amid poor barley harvests and higher taxes. It is the latest high cost of living to hit families that are reeling from the recession. Prices have already more than doubled in the past two decades, with the average cost of a pint of lager climbing from £1.08 in 1989 to £2.81 in 2009, the British Beer & Pub Association said. It is feared that the typical pri ... Jump to full article >>

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Cayuga and Seneca counties were expected to file a request yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their cigarette tax dispute case with the Cayuga Indian Nation, Syracuse.com reports. Philip Spellane, lawyer for the counties, promised to meet Monday’s filing deadline seeking a hearing from the nation’s top court to hear their appeal. In June, the counties promised an appeal of a May decision by New York’s top court ruling ... Jump to full article >>

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Eight federal indictments have been unsealed charging 15 persons and three businesses with federal offenses relating to schemes to evade California excise taxes on non-cigarette tobacco products, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner and California Attorney General Jerry Brown. The indictments, the result of a joint three-year investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Board of Equalization, and ... Jump to full article >>

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The former Liberian president is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes, including charges of murder, rape and sexual slavery, in a trial that has already lasted two years. Mr Taylor, 62, is accused by prosecutors of trading in “blood diamonds” to fund a brutal and bloody war carried out by rebels in Liberia’s neighbouring Sierra Leone. Critical to their case is the allegation that his staff gave the supermodel gems as a present after they ... Jump to full article >>

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The case turns on “customs valuation” — the value put by customs officials on imports which can differ from that declared by the importer, and is often a source of trade disputes. Manuel Teehankee, Philippine ambassador to the WTO, declined to comment specifically on the outcome of the case or even say whether Manila had won, because the ruling is still confidential while the WTO panel’s report is translated into the trade bod ... Jump to full article >>

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