
Expert raises concerns cig. tax could increase smuggling
A former assistant director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says if state lawmakers approve a new cigarette tax for Philadelphia, smuggling could become a problem. Richard Marianos worked for more than twenty years on investigations of gangs and firearm trafficking operations, among other things. He believes that if lawmakers approve a $2 per pack tax as proposed, criminals will see an opportunity to sell cigarettes illegally on the streets. “They’re being sold on the black market to avoid taxes or they’re being sold on the black market to increase more criminal revenue and support more parts of a criminal organization.” “They will take the profit margin and they can invest more money in their narcotics trade, they can trade for more guns, and they can finance more criminal activity for the amount of money that they would be making.”
http://www.witf.org/news/2014/08/expert-raises-concerns-cig-tax-could-increase-smuggling.php
Related Posts
ECI seizes cash, liquor and other material worth about ₹302 crore since March 1 in Andhra Pradesh
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has seized cash, liquor and other...
Kolkata Police seizes 1,400 litres of fake hand sanitizer, 2 arrested
Kolkata Police has seized 1,400 litres of fake hand sanitizer from a godown in...
Tobacco smuggling clampdown at waterport Terraces
Customs officers have moved to clamp down on tobacco smuggling in the area of...
Smuggled cigarettes seized in Baalbek bust
Authorities Friday seized three carloads of smuggled cigarettes from a depot in...