Tobacco Sales in Chicago - Essay Example

Tobacco Sales in Chicago Thesis ment The restaurants and bars must be allowed to have smoking within their premises as one cannot take away the sense of freedom of the people who visit them each and every day of their lives. The state has to see the interests of the people more than the interests of the so-called democrats and republicans. Smoking is a personal matter and it is best to leave it to the discretion of the person concerned. It is best to leave these people at their own and government should start minding its own business, more so the people who are in the top notch positions. Outline of research This paper will explore the possibilities of the ever-increasing tax levels related with the sales of tobacco in the state of Illinois and more particularly in Chicago. It will give an insight into the reservations of the people at the helm of affairs as well as present a research basis for the downfall of attendance at bars and restaurants if smoking is taken off the rack in a complete manner. Lastly, it talks about the governmental litigations, attached sets of tax laws and the like to cover the whole issue of the involvement of these people with the sale of tobacco and more so hindering the lives of the so many people who carry out this activity for their own good. Body Smoking and sale of related products including cigarettes has been the main source of tax collection as far as Illinois State is concerned. It has been learnt that Chicago has the highest tobacco sales in the whole country. [Simpson, 1930] This is testimony enough of the fact that stopping of smoking and the cigarettes in particular can have a downslide in revenue and tax collection on the part of the authorities. After all, it is up to the discretion of the end consumers, whether they sit in a pub or a bar for that matter to smoke or just quit it for their own good forever. However, one thing is for certain that tobacco sales are sure to rise in the coming times since the government cannot stop anyone from fulfilling what they desire to. Smoking is something very personal and one that satisfies a human being endlessly. [Mcginn, 1997] It just cannot be taken off the rack like anything. One has to see for his or her own self that it gives a huge amount of tax collection at the end of the day, thus has become the source of employment and other job opportunities for a number of youngsters and even elders too. If the bars and restaurants within the state of Illinois and more particularly within Chicago go smokeless and if there is a litigation which suggests a thing or two against some sort of a ban on the same, then one should believe that it would be a complete failure on the part of the government and the concerned authorities. [Sanchez, 2005] This is said due to the fact that Chicago is giving its best shot in terms of monetarily returning what the country has given it. More than that, the people will raise a lot of hue and cry and demand their rights as smoking after all is their favorite habit and they would love to hold on to it as long as they possibly could. The Cook County within the state of Illinois in a recent move doubled its tax on $2 a pack of cigarettes, thus giving the city of Chicago the highest cigarette tax that could be possible within any city or state of the nation. As per the records of Chicago taxes, the combined amounts including county, city, state and federal taxes on cigarettes amount up to around $4.05 a pack now. Before this could actually be carried out, the Cook County Board voted 10-7 in favor of doubling the county’s cigarette tax. This happened just two months back, on February 9, 2006. The reason for doing the same as estimated by the Board members of the Cook County are that it would give a yearly hike of $72 million in taxes to the country, which are exclusive of the additional revenues thus generated by the county. At the same time, the politicians and businessmen belonging to different strata of the society started to warn the state of adverse economic consequences. The tax hike on a pack of cigarette was widely condemned and the most talked about topic in the whole town. [Tobacco Litigation, 2006] Some termed the hike as being a joke as it would literally bring to shambles the business of small shop owners. Others thought of it as just being a mockery of the current state of affairs where laws were being built day in day out to suit the whims of some personalities rather than the whole population. Similarly, some even remarked that the tax hike in this manner would kill the businesses. Thus the discussion on whether or not the taxes should be there in the first place or they should be raised as per pack theory is one that is going to stay for a long time. People are just not willing to give up their favorite pastime as they believe it is in their interest to smoke or not to smoke and no one else can make them change their set course of action. [Balko, 2004] They believe that the government should consider setting other issues right and correct them in the best interest of the public rather than ponder over which state gives the most in terms of taxes and similar duties. This is quite a valid point since one should keep in mind that if the people are not bothered about the tax hike in the price of cigarettes, why should someone else even worry about it? In the end, it would only be appropriate to say that if the bars and restaurants within the state of Illinois go smokeless, it would be tantamount to complete reversal in fortunes as far as revenue and tax collection on the part of the nation is concerned. Sources Simpson, Herbert D Tax Racket and Tax Reform in Chicago The Institute of Economic Research 1930 Mcginn, Anne Platt The Nicotine Cartel World Watch Magazine Vol. 19 July 1997 Sanchez, Robert County to explore New Sales Tax, Sin Tax Options Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 16 November 2005 Author Unknown Tobacco Litigation SimmonsCooperLLC URL: http://www.simmonscooper.com/CM/FSDP/PracticeCenter/Personal-Injury/Tobacco.asp?focus=overview 2006 Balko, Radley Chicago Cigarette Tax Hike opens door to Real Vice Heartland Institute URL: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=15119 June 2004 Word Count: 1,026 Read More