No to Additional Pennsylvania State Tobacco Taxes

We, the undersigned, are outraged at the proposal of further taxation on tobacco products! This is a legal product, a staple of Pennsylvania's economic history, and employs thousands across this State.

Tobacco products including Roll Your Own are enjoyed by millions of adult smokers in Pennsylvania, many of whom are already heavily impacted by the recent economic downturn. Some are living paycheck to paycheck, and these same people have already been subjected to a shocking Federal tax increase on Roll Your Own Tobacco of over 2000 percent.

This proposed additional State tax will be devastating to these voting Citizens of Pennsylvania who contribute so much to our society. We, the undersigned, urge you to stand with your constituents who have already been unfairly burdened by outrageous tax increases on Other Tobacco Products and vote NO on HB 57 and any other attempt to increase taxes on those least able to pay.

We say that any additional taxes on Roll Your Own tobacco are WRONG, UNFAIR, and COWARDLY.

It's wrong to single out one group time and again for abuse through tax policy. It's unfair: If a program is that important, the cost should be evenly distributed among the 12 million citizens in PA., or it should be cut. It's cowardly, because rather than taking politically risky but far more equitable approaches such as cutting spending or passing an increase in the State Income tax on all citizens - the PA State Government is once again opting for the exercise of economic tyranny over a minority of citizens who've already been abused.

Enough is enough, and it stops NOW!