By PETER COX and RITA DELFINER
June 4, 2008
Angry New Yorkers had smoke coming out of their ears yesterday as they began paying the highest cigarette taxes in the country - and the price of a pack reached as high as $12.
The state's $1.25 hike in its excise tax means smokers will pay $2.75 in taxes per pack, along with $1.50 a pack in city excise taxes - and sales taxes on top of that.
"It's ridiculous," said Kathy Rodriguez, 43, of Staten Island, who works in Downtown Brooklyn and whose Virginia Slims went up from $7 to $8.50 a pack.
In Manhattan, at the Union Square News at 100 West 14th Street, Camels went up from $7.75 to $9 a pack and manager Foysol Ahmed, 22, said "a lot of people are angry" and about 10 to 15 customers walked out. At the Food Depot at 138 Fifth Avenue , the price of a pack of Camels went from $8.67 to $12.
"We've had a lot of complaints," said manager Jay Sohn.
