Tobacco Farmers Wonder if They’ll Survive Taxes
More than 30 years ago, the Whitakers built a farm around those big green and gold leaves that have dotted the North Carolina landscape for decades. Faylene Whitaker says tobacco is the one crop they can plant and know roughly how much money to expect.
The Whitakers sell to big names like Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, among others. But now, between higher tobacco taxes and landmark legislation signed Monday that puts the Food and Drug Administration in charge of regulating tobacco, the Whitakers have legitimate concerns.
“We’re caught in this cycle where we want to tax tobacco, but we want to regulate it. How can it survive that?” she asks. “Our biggest competitor is Brazil, and they don’t have all these taxes, and so companies can go there, but cheaper. So we see China coming on as a big player.”
“How does that really affect North Carolina? In the long run, do we see a loss of revenue? How bad is that loss going to be?” she says, questioning her future as a tobacco farmer.
Typically, the biggest worry for tobacco growers is the weather: is it too wet or too dry? Now the concern is government intervention.
The Whitakers also grow 50 acres of vegetables, so they’re used to dealing with the FDA and following federal regulations. They agree it’s necessary to ensure public safety. They don’t agree, though, that the FDA is equipped to oversee the tobacco industry.
“They have enough problems doing drugs and food,” Whitaker says.
The FDA now has the power to regulate the advertising, marketing and manufacturing of tobacco products. The Whitakers wonder about the trickle-down to farmers, the unexpected expenses.
But that’s not all.
“We hope what we won’t see is like when the food scare came with tomatoes and peppers last year,” she says. “They didn’t even look to see if it was North Carolina tomatoes, just gave a broad statement: Do not buy tomatoes.”
The Whitakers say tobacco farmers can’t afford mistakes on top of hefty tax increases.
© Copyright: Myfox8
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I’m a farm boy from Kansas and I sympathize with any tobacco grower. It seems the government has nothing better to do than tax a legal product that has historically been the backbone of the American economy and the South in particular. There are too many “do-gooders” who want to dictate what we can and cannot do. I will continue to support the American farmer in whatever crops he deems necessary to raise to survive.
i have no sympathy for these guys, they know what there growing and selling. To me they are no different than any any other drug dealer and my response to them would be the same also. GET A REAL JOB.