CNBC reports today that the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has sent Acting Governor Tomblin a letter stating:
“West Virginia legislators will soon consider Senate Bill 362 and House Bill 2973, which would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 55 cents to $1.55 and the tax on smokeless tobacco from 7 percent to 50 percent of the wholesale price of each item. On behalf of the 5,894 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in the state of West Virginia, I urge you to veto any bill that increases state excise taxes and instead focus your efforts on cutting wasteful and unnecessary spending from the state budget.”
However, CCAGW has recieved large amounts of funding from the tobacco industry. The St. Petersburg Times reported that CCAGW got at least $245,000 from the tobacco industry and subsequently lobbied on its behalf.
Throughout its history, CCAGW has been accused of fronting lobbying efforts of corporations to give them the appearance of “grassroots” support.
A Senate Finance Committee investigating ties between CCAGW and other non-profits and lobbyist-turned-convict Jack Abramoff in 2006 stated in a report that the groups had ”probably violated their tax-exempt status by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff’s direction; taking payments in exchange for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff’s clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff’s clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff’s clients.”
News of CCAGW’s letter to Acting Governor Tomblin came on the same day the Associated Press reported that Tomblin spokesperson Jacqueline Proctor said that now may not be time for a tobacco tax increase.
Please contact Acting Governor Tomblin’s office at 304-558-2000 or toll-free at 1-888-438-2731 and urge him to stand with West Virginians - not with out-of-state special interest groups - by SUPPORTING the tobacco tax increase this year.
You can also directly email Acting Governor Tomblin from here.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Dear Acting Governor Tomblin:
As a cancer survivor, a previous addicted smoker, I urge you to do the right thing and support the increase in tobacco tax. This bill is not all about tax, it is also about the health of the West Virginia residents. This bill is about saving lives and discouraging youth from using tobacco. Did you know that big tobacco has referred to our youth as their “replacement smokers”?
Thank you. I am hoping that you will reply.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:27 am
Again, outside interest groups who get mega-bucks from the tobacco industry continue to influence WV’s politicians. We need to remember and remind our leaders that the tobacco industry has been convicted of racketeering and:
• Have enticed children and the poor to use an addictive and cancer-causing substance;
• Have lied to government regulators about the safety of their products;
• Have deliberately advertised their products as safe when they knew this wasn’t true;
• Make products that kill more people than drug use, car crashes and murders combined (4,000 per year in WV); and
• Paid over $250 billion to the states for costs to taxpayers for decades of losses (but WV didn’t spend these funds on health care!).
But… have West Virginia’s leaders learned enough about Big Tobacco’s lying and deceptive behaviors to do what is right for their constituents?