The New York state attorney general says in a lawsuit that UPS allegedly shipped 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in the state between 2010 and 2014.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York City Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter plan to file the $180 million lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
According to the Times Union of Albany, they said the shipments amounted to $29.7 million in lost tax revenue.
The lawsuit claims UPS shipped unstamped cigarettes from at least six unlicensed vendors on Indian reservations.
UPS denied the allegations. It tells the newspaper that UPS tobacco policy strictly prohibits the shipment of cigarettes to consumers and unlicensed dealers or distributors.
(AP)
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9 Responses
If UPS (and other parcel delivery services) are required to inspect the cargos being shipped to see they are lawful, it will radically undermine the industry and increase costs for consumers, and will be only a minor inconvenience for criminals.
Just ban cigarettes altogether, just like we banned putting lead in gasoline over public health concerns.
Too bad state legislatures will never ban cigarettes because of the tax levied is too lucrative.
@goofus
Banning cigarettes will have the same results as banning alcohol during prohibition and drugs today. It will cause the black market to sell unregulated (contaminated) cigarettes and give gangs more reason to exist.
goofus, Prohibition didn’t work. You can look it up.
@goofus. Try to get this thru your head ;it might sound strange to you : THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO BUSINESS TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO MIND THEIR HEALTH ! They should not even be taxing cigarettes much less banning them. You don’t smoke so you sit on your high perch not caring about taxes on smokers .Eventually they will tax things that affect you and then you will protest loudly-to no avail.(I actually hope this happens ) .It’s because of people like you that the government is becoming so omni-present and frightening. Go down your road and the government will tell us how to raise our children and how big our houses can be.
Does prohibition of narcotics work or should narcotics be legalized?
#3 This name is already taken,
What would you consider “uncontaminated?” Are the carcinogens present in regulated cigarettes under this label? No such thing as a clean cigarette, they are all contaminated.
#5 A conan doyle,
Thanks for your best wishes, very frum of you.
didnt mean you personally
Is the consensus that narcotics and cigarettes be subjected to prohibition or is the consensus that both cigarettes and narcotics be made freely available to the public?