Federal Tobacco Tax.

[Tom Earp]

Wrong KSig RC, Tom will go out of business and become a welfare person.

Oh, who cares some will say, it will not only be me but many others.

When Kansas and Texas raised their taxes many did go out of business and so did wholesalers. But who cares? Maybe the people who work for me and all of the rest.

Where do thay go? Oh, I guess no one cares. These people were my friends and I cared about them.

How many more and what will be the next taxed issues? Who then will be out of work and lives hurt.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Wrong KSig RC, Tom will go out of business and become a welfare person.

Oh, who cares some will say, it will not only be me but many others.

When Kansas and Texas raised their taxes many did go out of business and so did wholesalers. But who cares? Maybe the people who work for me and all of the rest.

Where do thay go? Oh, I guess no one cares. These people were my friends and I cared about them.

How many more and what will be the next taxed issues? Who then will be out of work and lives hurt.

Gross margin on cigarettes is something like 17-20%, right? It's clear that your interest here isn't the smoker, it's keeping your high-margin cash cow viable. So it would make sense that people are switching to 'value' brands to offset the cost, right?

Except they're really not, are they Tom? The actual increase in movement has been in specialty brands, imports, and etc. This was what I meant by "profitable model" before - there's still tons of money for you to make . . . you'll just have to figure out where. Remember: the number of cigarettes sold has fallen nationwide, but actual dollars spent has increased. Sure, this is partly due to tax increases, but it shows the raw cap on available disposable income hasn't been reached. Studies have shown that it's not even close to being reached. The sky isn't falling, no matter how poorly your friends performed in your anecdotal evidence.

If anything, you should direct your anger at the state taxes, which are hilariously high compared to the obscene amount of money they get from previous tobacco litigation.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by AGDee

My mom had quit 5 years before her COPD diagnosis and a good 10 years before she was on oxygen. My next door neighbor though? He was put on oxygen last month and turns it off to smoke, which I think is nuts, but I think it's a good example of what a horrible addiction those things are.

Let me guess. He goes to the casino too? MGM? Or this guy is my uncle. Lol true stories.

[RU OX Alum]

I am opposed to this.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Gross margin on cigarettes is something like 17-20%, right? It's clear that your interest here isn't the smoker, it's keeping your high-margin cash cow viable. So it would make sense that people are switching to 'value' brands to offset the cost, right?

Except they're really not, are they Tom? The actual increase in movement has been in specialty brands, imports, and etc. This was what I meant by "profitable model" before - there's still tons of money for you to make . . . you'll just have to figure out where. Remember: the number of cigarettes sold has fallen nationwide, but actual dollars spent has increased. Sure, this is partly due to tax increases, but it shows the raw cap on available disposable income hasn't been reached. Studies have shown that it's not even close to being reached. The sky isn't falling, no matter how poorly your friends performed in your anecdotal evidence.

If anything, you should direct your anger at the state taxes, which are hilariously high compared to the obscene amount of money they get from previous tobacco litigation.

Wrong Bucko, It is 8 % Mark up which equals @ 2/1 gross prfit, not 8 % profit even close.

True, the money has raised, is not at the retail or wholesale level, but at the State and Federal level.

So each level of Government wishes to use Tobacco as a cash cow, they are losing money, jobs, and taxes.

The disposable income is raising (?), well I am not so sure about that?

Little do you know or have a clue of how much profit is there for a Store like mine or others who have finally given up and said screw it.

Get a little experience from a store like mine and then Please come back and tell me what you find!