New York's Billion-Dollar Cigarette Black Market

Center for Public Integrity reporter Kate Willson describes the workings of New York's tobacco black market, and how it deprives the state of nearly $1 billion in tax revenue annually. Read more about this project at http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/

(Smuggling photos provided by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• New York
• tobacco
• smuggling
• Poospatuck
• cigarettes
• indians
• CPI
• ICIJ

[KushinLos]

What exactly is "legally consume"?

[cpiweb]

When I say that every resident on the Poospatuck reservation would need to smoke 15 cigarettes per minute to "legally consume" the 2.3 billion cigarettes that tribe purchased in 2007, I am considering New York State tax law, which allows members of a tribe to legally sell untaxed cigarettes to other members of its reservation, but requires that cigarette sales to anyone off that reservation be taxed as they would elsewhere in the state. Kate Willson, CPI staff writer

[Artistspop]

The reservation is not a real reservation. The Indians are not really Indians. But your outfit is racist and anti-Indian, for sure. Give Indians the authority to enforce tribal law on non-Indians if you want change.

[cpiweb]

The Poospatuck reservation, although not federally recognized, is recognized by New York state, and the U.S. Census bureau lists 76 percent of its residents as American Indian. CPI is a non-partisan, non-profit organization of investigative journalists who work hard to be thorough and fair in our reporting, which at times necessarily touches on sensitive issues such as race and ethnicity. Anti-Indian? Hardly. Check our website and judge for yourself. Kate Willson, CPI staff writer

[deckchairs1]

Lay still for State Gouging!

If you don't stuff the pockets of thieving lawmakers you're a bad bad person.

The gov't is the biggest black market racket in the world!

[DigitalKomponents]

When I was living in NYC from 2005 up until February of this year, I LEGALLY, all City, State and Federal Taxes, PAID IN FULL, paid no more than $1 Dollar a Pack.

If I had gone through my local corner bodega and paid their rates it would have cost more than my rent for the month.

Tell me how putting more disposable income into the hands of New Yorkers is a BAD THING?

Your Premise SUCKS.

Mayor Mike could give a rats ass about the Working Poor of NYC, why are you helping his nonsense agenda?!?

[khalsa1960]

@gombagod These cigarettes are not real cigs they are counterfit if the cigs being sold were from the manufacter then it would be grey market but sense these are fakes made in china its black market also you can buy a 40 ft container worth of cigs from china for 140 USD then sell each for 1-3 dollars less than regular cigs and make like a 40 percent profit its crazy.Making hundreds of thousands a day.

[gombagod]

Cigarette smuggling is not a black market. Its a grey market.

[machizmo77]

Prohibition failed with alcohol and it will fail with Tobacco.

[KripDrip]

what do you mean this was done with liquor?

U talking about prohibition? That had nothing to do with the government raising taxes on alcohol. They made alcohol illegal.

[KripDrip]

why dont they go after people buying untaxed alcohol in another state like New Hampshire? Thousands of fed up people in Massachusettes are driving to New Hampshire to save money in alcohol! Shouldnt they pay the tax in the state in MA when they bring their alcohol back home? Or the people that drive to other states and Mexico to get cheaper gas? Should they be forced to pay the taxes on that gas when they get back home?

Why they only going after the people who want affordable cigarettes?

[imnotsmartbutimtryin]

Ny is convincing me thievery is ok!! as long as it is legally stolen.....like cig. tax.....fucking thieves!!!!!! it is just sick......

[TheNYCutube]

Dear Bloomberg's Hipster College Grad Army...Please don't talk about this issue why don't we talk about how the reservations in the state have no income and this leaves only this option or a casino. But seeing as you don't care and you would rather make NYC a sterile place full of Starbucks then I guess you wont look into an issue such as this or maybe you can talk to the thousands of people you seem to not care about that you forcibly move from there homes in BK....

[MyHeythere1]

@cpiweb

Kate Willson, CPI staff writer

Contact me. I have a story on a different subject you may be interested in

[MyHeythere1]

Great reporting on the cigarette smugglers. that looked like a dangerous assignment reporting on that story

[thoostorm4]

@Artistspop THEY STOPPPED EIGHTEEN WHEEL SEMI TRUCKS BRINGING LOADS OF CIGS TO SMOKE SHOPS