Although some stores’ owners near borders with New York are seeing increased cigarette sales due to recent tobacco taxes, not all those bordering Chautauqua County are being kept busy by smokers.

Dana Franklin of the West Addison General Store in Vermont says sales have gone up since July 1, when New York increased its cigarette tax by $1.60 per pack, leaving New Yorkers paying $4.35 per pack.

Sue Stuart, assistant manager at Sugar Grove’s Kwik Fill/Red Apple reports she, too, has seen an increase in the volume of people from New York coming in to buy cigarettes. Although, she said, store rules prohibit her from giving figures, she said she has noticed more sales since July 1.

Jamestown resident Lynn Radac stopped at the store she was passing on her way to play golf recently in order to purchase cheaper cigarettes than she could in New York. While there, she filled up on gasoline, too, saying both are less expensive at the border store she passes on her way to the golf course.

“New York state taxes are killing us,” she said.

Although some stores, such as Country Fair of Warren, have not seen an increase according to a shift manager on duty recently, others continue to reap the benefits from bordering New York, where the tax increase has left smokers driving elsewhere.

Mindy Frederick, clerk, at Choice Cigarette Discount Outlet of Warren, reports seeing at least 10 percent more customers since New York taxes increased.

“I hear it all evening,” she said about New York residents who tell her how they are driving to her store to avoid New York’s tax increase.

“They all seem to say how expensive they’ve gotten,” she said about cigarettes in New York.

According to an Associated Press article, Vermont store owners near the border with New York state say they’re selling more cigarettes to Empire State residents seeking to avoid that state’s higher tobacco tax.
Franklin tells the Burlington Free Press cigarette sales also increased several years ago after New York increased its tax, but they later fell back after Vermont’s tax increased to $2.24 a pack. And convenience stores operators in border towns say they also benefit from increased gasoline sales because gas is less expensive in Vermont than New York.

(Source: Post-Journal)