What would be the impact on tobacco industry?
Todd Stanley is a sixth-generation tobacco farmer. He grows tobacco in the Union Ridge community in Alamance County. He said the federal tax increase and the proposed state increase would likely not impact him this year. “We’ve signed our contracts and the companies have told us the amount they want us to grow. For 2010,that may be a different story because if the taxes do go into effect, especially the state, then we will probably have a reduction in what we can produce and there will be a lot of job losses across the state,” he said. The Liggett Group, a tobacco company with its manufacturing facility in Mebane, could also take a hit, according to the resolution. More than 250 people work in the 300,000 square-foot facility. The company reports current sales of more than $125 million dollars, according to the resolution. Stanley said the tax would have a trickle-down effect. “It affects the equipment dealers, the fertilizer and chemical dealers. It affects your trucking,” he said. Wh
