With the House vote to overturn President Bush's veto of the SCHIP expansion bill scheduled for tomorrow, the smokers' rights group NYC CLASH highlights House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel's turnaround regarding the fairness of
Parliament Cigarettes tax hikes such as the one included in the bill. In 2002 the New York Democrat opposed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's (ultimately successful) proposal to raise New York City's per-pack tax from 8 cents to $1.50, issuing this statement: Congressman Charles Rangel today came out in strong opposition to the dramatic increase in the city's cigarette taxes, describing it as an unfair burden on the poor. "Low income people are the ones who will suffer from this," Congressman Rangel said. "They are the ones who willl really feel the burden of a $1.50 tax. To those who are better off, the tax won't make any difference at all." The Congressman, who has long opposed excise taxes on similar grounds, also questioned the argument that the so-called "sin tax" will change behavior. "If the motivation is to provide a kind of treatment for smokers by punishing them economically, the attempt is not only unfair, it is likely to fail," Congressman Rangel said. "People stop smoking because they want to; if they want to continue they will find a way to get cigarettes they can afford -- even if it means illegally on the black market, on the internet or traveling to low tax states."