Researchers expect cigarette smuggling to triple if Kansas raises tobacco tax
Kansas lawmakers are debating whether to raise state taxes on cigarettes to help balance the budget. If Kansas lawmakers pass Governor Brownback’s proposal to raise the tax by $1.50 per pack, more people are expected to smuggle cigarettes into Kansas from Missouri and other surrounding states. According the latest data just released by Mackinac, Kansas has the 34th highest tobacco tax in the nation at 79 cents per pack.
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China quality watchdog tells Alibaba fakes threaten China’s reputation
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd must pay more attention to product quality and step up the fight against fake goods sold online, China’s product quality watchdog chief told company executive chairman Jack Ma, according to a statement on Tuesday. The proliferation of shoddy goods online was a threat to China’s reputation, and the ruling Communist Party and government took the issue seriously, Zhi Shuping, director-general of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said in the meeting on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/alibaba-group-fakes-idINKBN0LE12820150210
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Kansas tax hike on tobacco would triple smuggling rates, researchers project
Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas would be illicit, if the Legislature approves Gov. Sam Brownback’s request for a $1.50-a-pack tax increase, according to data released Monday by a Michigan research group.
The tax increase would raise the smuggling rate in Kansas from about 15 percent of cigarettes consumed to 46.5 percent, says the estimate from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-oriented think tank that annually researches cigarette smuggling in conjunction with the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy research organization.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article9647801.html#storylink=cpy
Lear MoreCourt finds Turkish company guilty of selling fake L’Oreal products
French cosmetics giant L’Oreal has won a lawsuit against Turkish retail chain EVKUR by claiming EVKUR sold fake L’Oreal products. The court has decided to collect the products that have been verified as fraudulent and destroy them. It also decided that EVKUR would pay compensation to L’Oreal. L’Oreal sued EVKUR, which has over 80 stores across the country, in 2009. Everything began when a consumer from the northwestern province of Bursa bought mascara from an EVKUR store, according to the court documents.
Lear MoreTobacco tax hike would triple smuggling
TOPEKA — Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas would be illicit, if the Legislature approves Gov. Sam Brownback’s request for a $1.50-a-pack tax increase, according to data released Monday by a Michigan research group. The tax increase would raise the smuggling rate in Kansas from about 15 percent of cigarettes consumed to 46.5 percent, according to the estimate from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-oriented think tank that annually researches cigarette smuggling in conjunction with the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy research organization.
Lear MoreNew York Has Highest Rate of Smuggled Cigarettes in the Nation
As addicted New York cigarette smokers stress about the high taxes on tobacco products, there are many people throughout the city that smuggle in low cost cigarettes from surrounding states. In fact, New York has the most smuggled cigarettes in the nation, but this makes sense considering New York has the highest cigarette taxes in the country as well. Although the intent was to increase revenues and create economic stability, the rising taxes have led to a fluctuating economy and growth in criminal activity.
Lear MoreJailed Hungarian trucker Karoly Borsos tried to smuggle 3m illegal cigarettes into Hull
A HUNGARIAN lorry driver was caught trying to smuggle almost three million illegal cigarettes into Hull. Karoly Borsos, 61, was the courier for a gang trying to smuggle £665,108 of tobacco into the UK. Border Force officers searched his lorry at King George Dock after he arrived in the city on a ferry from Rotterdam.
Lear MoreHong Kong smokers to escape proposed tax hike in budget
The tax on tobacco will not rise in the upcoming budget despite a campaign to double the duty on cigarettes in a bid to get more Hongkongers to kick the habit.
A person familiar with the situation said Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah would hold fire on any increase this year because the government was still studying the impact of his decision to raise tax by 20 cents a cigarette in last year’s budget.
“It is quite rare for the government to raise the duty in two consecutive years but we won’t rule out the possibility of further increases in future,” the person said.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1703788/smokers-escape-tax-hit-budget
Lear MoreBuyer Beware, Fake AMD CPUs May Be Selling On Amazon
The main CPU to watch out for is the AMD A8-7600. What appears to be happening is that customers are buying an AMD CPU from Amazon like normal, but when they receive the chips, the CPUs aren’t working. Enough buyers looked closely at the bottom of the chips and realized that things just weren’t matching up.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amazon-fake-amd-cpus,28528.html
Lear MoreDrink-driving: Man dead, friend critical
A man died some time after crashing his two-wheeler into a footpath in BTM Layout 2nd Stage early on Monday. He was drunk at the time. His friend, who also was drunk and riding pillion, sustained grievous injuries and is battling for life.
Shreyas, 25, a resident of BTM Layout, was riding home after he and colleague, Sathyaprasad, had liquor some time after Sunday midnight. Shreyas, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, could not control the bike and crashed it into a footpath on 29th main road of the neighbourhood. The crash threw the duo off the bike and into the air.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/458792/drink-driving-man-dead-friend.html
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