LI tobacconists: Tax hike could shut us down
Quick ReadA proposed measure by Gov. David A. Paterson would raise the tax on tobacco products from 46 percent to 90 percent of the wholesale price.
Photo credit: James Carbone | "We are fighting for our business and our lives," said Jim Mantione, who with his wife, Teresa, owns Jim's Smoke Shop on Route 25A in Mount Sinai. The governor's budget office says the main issue is health. (June 1, 2010)
Tobacco tax increase worries LIers
Long Island tobacconists say the last tax hike on cigars and non-cigarette tobacco products nearly crippled them, but the governor's latest proposed increase could shut them down forever.
"We are fighting for our businesses and our lives," said James Mantione, who owns Jim's Smoke Shop in Patchogue and Mount Sinai with his wife, Teresa. "We want to pay our taxes, but at a 90 percent tax rate,...
