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9Y <br /> ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br /> P.O. Box 8181 <br /> HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. <br /> Moses Carey,Jr. 27278 732-8181 <br /> Alice M. Gordon <br /> Stephen H. Halkiotis 968-4501 <br /> 688-7331 <br /> Verla C. Insko <br /> ORANGE COUNTY RESOLUTION 227-2031 <br /> Don Willhoit <br /> IN SUPPORT ,OF FAIR 644-3004 (Fax) <br /> TREATMENT OF TOBACCO FARMERS <br /> WHEREAS, efforts are now taking place in Washington, D.C. to increase the <br /> federal tax on tobacco from 24 cents per package of cigarettes to <br /> as much as $1. 49 per package; and <br /> WHEREAS, the president has proposed a health care reform plan that would be <br /> partially financed through an increase of 75 cents per pack of <br /> cigarettes; and <br /> WHEREAS, no other commodity in our nation is taxed at this rate; and <br /> WHEREAS, a 75 cent increase in the tax is estimated by the tobacco industry <br /> to cause the loss of over 273, 000 jobs and $8 billion in payroll <br /> nationwide; and <br /> WHEREAS, 31, 242 of these jobs and $689 . 6 million in payroll would be lost in <br /> North Carolina alone; and <br /> WHEREAS, Orange County, with approximately 255 tobacco farmers, 1, 730 acres <br /> of tobacco grown annually and more than 3 . 5 million pounds of <br /> tobacco produced last year, has a significant economic and human <br /> stake in tobacco production; and <br /> WHEREAS, approximately six million dollars in income enters the Orange <br /> County economy from tobacco grown in this County; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners recognizes the <br /> importance of tobacco farming in the rural economy of Orange <br /> County; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners recognizes the <br /> plight of Tobacco Farmers in Orange County who must face declining <br /> support for their products and pressures related to switching to <br /> alternative crops. <br /> NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners supports the tobacco <br /> farmers, and all agribusinesses associated with tobacco in Orange <br /> County. <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners urges our congressmen <br /> David Price and Melvin Watt, as well as our Senators, Lauch <br /> Faircloth and Jesse Helms to strongly encourage support for more <br /> equitable and more diverse revenues, such as taxes on alcohol, to <br /> finance health care reform. <br /> YOU COUNT IN ORANGE COUNTY ! <br />