"Contraband cigarettes are a massive problem in the area, especially in view of the economic climate," says DS O'Brien. "This raid may seem small scale but it is linked to organised crime. And make no mistake; these people are thieves, stealing from the taxpayer."Err, run that by me again?
To recap. We have an industry which - just as any other industry does within normal rules of supply and demand - wishes to sell a product at a rate which maximises their profit, and customers who wish to buy at a price which they are willing to pay dependent on the value they ascribe to it. So far, so good.
However, this equilibrium is disturbed by the state, who tax the product beyond any measure of fairness or reason, often to be spent on daft ideological schemes and eye-watering waste.
Enforced by way of their instruments of violence (legislation, fines, intimidation and imprisonment), the result is that every purchaser of that product has a portion of the purchase price stolen from them on the whim of government.
And, as if to add insult to injury, the justification is usually to reduce costs to a compulsory health service which, again, is paid for by money taken by force from the population, and from which there is no opt-out.
As a result, counterfeiters move into the space between the natural price and the unrealistic false taxed price. An entirely predictable scenario and one which can be blamed on one party only ... the state.
Incredibly, said state then has the brass neck to accuse others of stealing from the taxpayer. That is to say, stealing the money which has already been stolen from consumers by government.
It's like saying that if you lock your car away in the garage, you are stealing it from the scrote down the road who might want to pinch and sell it to pay for his crack habit.
That politicians have managed to convince their sheep that such an arrangement is perfectly normal is staggering enough, but there is one player in all this that they haven't looted yet.
The middle men.
Tesco faces £38m bill for selling tobaccoNot content with moving heaven and earth to vandalise suppliers of a desired product, and thieving from those who wish to buy it, governments are now moving into the protection racket.
According to analysis by property firm Ryden, Tesco has 90 out of the 221 stores in Scotland that are set to be affected by the government's public health levy. The government intends to raise £110 million over the next three years, with £38m due to come from Tesco alone as it has the highest number of stores with a rateable value of £300,000 or more. The levy is aimed at big retailers that sell both alcohol and tobacco, with Morrisons, Asda, and Sainsbury's also set to cough up tens of millions each in additional business rates over the next three years.
"Nice business selling booze and fags you have there Mr Sainsbury, wouldn't want anything nasty to happen to it, now would we? Just pay the instalments every month and we won't close you down and sequestrate your assets, there's a good lad."
Or how about this staggering heist in Greece.
Smoking will be once again permitted in Greece given the country’s poor financial situation. The new measure will allow smokers to smoke inside casinos and big nightclubs exceeding 300m2.That's right. The Greek government is now stealing cash, by way of menaces, to evade prosecution for a law that they themselves imposed without mandate.
According to the decision of Finance and Health Ministers, Mr. Venizelos and Mr. Loverdos, casino and big nightclub owners will be authorized to set up a smoking area, which could cover 50% of the total acreage of their business.
In order to set up a special area for smokers, the owner will have to pay annually 200 euros per square meter. The tax must be paid before the 30th of November 2011 in Public Revenue Offices.
Al Capone had nothing on these guys!
These oleaginous bastards have long since lost the authority to moralise on law and order, or anti-social behaviour. Governments are the most organised criminal syndicates the world has ever seen.
