Revenue officials say cigarette smuggling is growing
Minnesota revenue officials say they need an additional $1 million annually to crack down on cigarette smugglers and retailers selling untaxed tobacco. Authorities say cigarette smuggling has become a growing problem less than two years after Minnesota raised its cigarette tax to one of the highest in the country. The Star Tribune says revenue officials seized or assessed untaxed tobacco products in more than 40 percent of the 374 retail inspections conducted through the first three quarters of 2014.
Lear More$3 million worth of fake cigarettes seized in Malaysia
Authorities here have foiled attempts by a syndicate to use Malaysia as a transit point to ship RM7.7mil (S$2.9 million) worth of counterfeit cigarettes to the middle east. The syndicate which apparently produced the Gauloises Blondes brand counterfeits in a neighbouring country had attempted to ship out to Lebanon and Turkey some 154,500 cartons which were in transit at Westport when officers from the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry seized them.
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Vietnam orders tobacco firms to pay more for anti-smuggling fund
Vietnamese tobacco firms have been asked to more than triple their contribution to a compulsory funding initiative aimed at cracking down on contraband in the country. According to a new regulation, the Tobacco Association is now required to pay VND3,500 (16 US cents) for each smuggled or counterfeit 20-cigarette pack confiscated in Vietnam, local media reported. The rule is applied for all cigarettes, irrespective of the brand. The old fee was VND1,100 a pack.
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Researchers expect cigarette smuggling to triple if Kansas raises tobacco tax
Kansas lawmakers are debating whether to raise state taxes on cigarettes to help balance the budget. If Kansas lawmakers pass Governor Brownback’s proposal to raise the tax by $1.50 per pack, more people are expected to smuggle cigarettes into Kansas from Missouri and other surrounding states. According the latest data just released by Mackinac, Kansas has the 34th highest tobacco tax in the nation at 79 cents per pack.
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China quality watchdog tells Alibaba fakes threaten China’s reputation
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd must pay more attention to product quality and step up the fight against fake goods sold online, China’s product quality watchdog chief told company executive chairman Jack Ma, according to a statement on Tuesday. The proliferation of shoddy goods online was a threat to China’s reputation, and the ruling Communist Party and government took the issue seriously, Zhi Shuping, director-general of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said in the meeting on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/alibaba-group-fakes-idINKBN0LE12820150210
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Kansas tax hike on tobacco would triple smuggling rates, researchers project
Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas would be illicit, if the Legislature approves Gov. Sam Brownback’s request for a $1.50-a-pack tax increase, according to data released Monday by a Michigan research group.
The tax increase would raise the smuggling rate in Kansas from about 15 percent of cigarettes consumed to 46.5 percent, says the estimate from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-oriented think tank that annually researches cigarette smuggling in conjunction with the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy research organization.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article9647801.html#storylink=cpy
Lear MoreCourt finds Turkish company guilty of selling fake L’Oreal products
French cosmetics giant L’Oreal has won a lawsuit against Turkish retail chain EVKUR by claiming EVKUR sold fake L’Oreal products. The court has decided to collect the products that have been verified as fraudulent and destroy them. It also decided that EVKUR would pay compensation to L’Oreal. L’Oreal sued EVKUR, which has over 80 stores across the country, in 2009. Everything began when a consumer from the northwestern province of Bursa bought mascara from an EVKUR store, according to the court documents.
Lear MoreTobacco tax hike would triple smuggling
TOPEKA — Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas would be illicit, if the Legislature approves Gov. Sam Brownback’s request for a $1.50-a-pack tax increase, according to data released Monday by a Michigan research group. The tax increase would raise the smuggling rate in Kansas from about 15 percent of cigarettes consumed to 46.5 percent, according to the estimate from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-oriented think tank that annually researches cigarette smuggling in conjunction with the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy research organization.
Lear MoreNew York Has Highest Rate of Smuggled Cigarettes in the Nation
As addicted New York cigarette smokers stress about the high taxes on tobacco products, there are many people throughout the city that smuggle in low cost cigarettes from surrounding states. In fact, New York has the most smuggled cigarettes in the nation, but this makes sense considering New York has the highest cigarette taxes in the country as well. Although the intent was to increase revenues and create economic stability, the rising taxes have led to a fluctuating economy and growth in criminal activity.
Lear MoreJailed Hungarian trucker Karoly Borsos tried to smuggle 3m illegal cigarettes into Hull
A HUNGARIAN lorry driver was caught trying to smuggle almost three million illegal cigarettes into Hull. Karoly Borsos, 61, was the courier for a gang trying to smuggle £665,108 of tobacco into the UK. Border Force officers searched his lorry at King George Dock after he arrived in the city on a ferry from Rotterdam.
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