States

Alabama:
 
Alabama lawyer seeks repeal on tobacco tax
An Alabama lawyer has filed an application with the state’s Supreme Court to revisit a decision it made in January when it ruled that a tax levied on tobacco was legal because it did not require the use of a tax stamp. The lawyer claims the court missed the intent of the state legislature when, in 1947, it repealed municipal tobacco taxes in Jefferson County, barring cities from collecting a tobacco tax by affixing tax stamps on tobacco. Click for more information (free registration required).

Arkansas:
 
Tax revenue increases in Arkansas due to increase in neighboring state's taxes
The revenue from taxes on cigarettes sold in Arkansas increased by almost $4 million in 2005 even though both cigarette sales and the smoking rate among adults in the state decreased and the tax has not increased. This unusual occurrence is a result of increase in neighboring Oklahoma’s cigarette tax. Click for more information.

Colorado:
 
Case study of Colorado tobacco excise tax constitutional amendment available
The following link on the CDC website provides a description of a case study for an excise tax constitutional amendment referendum campaign in Colorado. Click for more information.

Florida:
 
Florida groups seeking constitutional amendment submit signatures
Anti-tobacco groups in Florida have announced that they have collected the required number of signatures to support a constitutional amendment requiring the legislature to set aside money from the state for tobacco prevention programs. Click for more information.

Illinois:
 
Illinois to increase tax on cigars
Cigar smokers in Illinois would pay $10 million more per year under a proposal by the state’s governor to equalize tax rates for cigars and cigarettes. Use of the additional revenue would be used to expand preschool, help families pay for college, and other non-tobacco related programs. Click for more information.
 
Chicago considering doubling cigarette tax
The Finance Committee of the Cook County Board recommended the county increase its cigarette tax to $2 per pack. Opponents believe that the increase would hurt businesses and low-income residents. Click for more information.

Indiana:
 
Indiana cigarette tax increase fails
The governor of Indiana had proposed a cigarette tax increase of 25 cents to help reduce smoking in Indiana. A state House committee killed the proposal and the governor could not bring the state’s two political parties together to work on a compromise. Click for more information.

Iowa:
 
Iowa governor proposes tax increase on cigarettes and beer
The governor of Iowa supports an 80-cent-per-pack cigarette tax increase to pay for health care initiatives. State House leaders are against the tax increase and propose instead tax cuts for the state’s elderly citizens. Click for more information.

Kentucky:
 
Tax increase proposed in Kentucky
A tax increase of $4 per carton of cigarettes has been proposed by the governor of Kentucky in order for the state to recoup the $4 per carton that state smokers pay into the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. However, the state attorney general is concerned that the increase could result in a breach of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies Click on either of the following links for additional information: Story 1 and Story 2.

Louisiana:
 
American Heart Association of Louisiana to propose tax increase
The American Heart Association of Louisiana is exploring a proposal to start a tobacco-tax-increase campaign in Louisiana. Click for more information (free registration required).

Maryland:
 
Doubling of tobacco tax sought in Maryland
As part of the Healthy Maryland Initiative, Democrats in the Maryland House of Delegates and health care advocates would like to double the tobacco tax to provide funds for health care for uninsured residents and to offer incentives to small businesses to provide health benefits. Click for more information.

Minnesota:
 
Lawsuit filed regarding Minnesota impact fee
Three Minnesota smokers want to be reimbursed for the extra 75 cents they have paid for each pack of cigarettes they've purchased since the health impact fee was enacted. They are filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of all smokers in the state, stating that the fee is illegal because it ultimately passes on the economic burden to the smokers. The industry and distributors claim the fee is illegal because the 1998 MSA absolves the industry of paying for any more smoking-related health costs. A judge has ruled that the fee can stay in place while the State Supreme Court decides on the case. Click on either of the following links for additional information: Story 1 and Story 2.

Mississippi:
 
Mississippi governor threatens veto on tax bill
Health advocates and consumers are lobbying the governor of Mississippi to pass legislation to increase the state cigarette tax. The bill would increase the tax from 18 cents to 75 cents per pack in July and to $1 per pack one year later. It would also decrease the state’s grocery tax from 7% to 4.5% and would eventually phase it out. Governor Haley Barbour is vetoing the bill, believing that it might cause the state to lose funds for recovery from Hurricane Katrina, and advocates are trying to persuade legislators to override the governor’s veto. Click for more information.

Missouri:
 
Large tax increase proposed in Missouri
A proposal in Missouri would increase the tax on cigarettes by 80 cents per pack, and would increase the tax on other tobacco products by approximately 20%. The campaign has been launched by the Committee for a Healthy Future, comprised by the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, the state hospital association, doctors and other health care workers, in order to get the initiative on the ballot in November. The new tax would net $350-500 million per year, which would be used for health care services, higher Medicaid payment rates for providers, and new programs to reduce tobacco use. Click for more information.

Montana:
 
Examining the impact of the Montana tobacco tax
Montana’s $1.70 per pack cigarette tax went into effect on January 1, 2005 and has been successful at reducing smoking in the state. The Department of Revenue believes about 250,000 fewer packs a month are purchased by Montanans since voters raised the tax, although it’s impossible to track the number of packs smuggled in from neighboring states or purchased on the Internet. Click for more information.

New Mexico:
 
Concern regarding bill passed to change tax on moist snuff in New Mexico
The coalition New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco has criticized a bill that was recently passed in a legislative committee that would change the way that “moist snuff” is taxed. The group claims there is a discrepancy between two reports on the tax structure. A report showing a revenue increase was based on information supplied by U.S. Tobacco, which manufactures Copenhagen and Skoal. Click for more information.

New York:
 
New York governor wishes to delay Indian cigarette tax
Governor Pataki would prefer that a law requiring Indian stores to collect cigarette and fuel taxes be instituted after he has left office. Under the law enacted last year, the state tax department is to start collecting the taxes on sales to non-Indians in March. Click for more information (free registration required).
 
NYC mayor proposes increase in city’s cigarette tax
New York City Mayor Bloomberg is calling for a 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax, angering local tobacco retailers. A poll indicates that 70% of city voters would support the increase. Click for more information.

Ohio:
 
Cost of cigarettes in Ohio now at $5 a pack
By increasing the cigarette tax to 70 cents per pack, smokers in Ohio now pay $5 per pack of cigarettes. The additional taxes will be placed in the state’s general fund and should generate an extra $505 million in the fiscal year. Click for more information.

Oklahoma:
 
Oklahoma governor criticized for handling of tobacco tax law
Lawmakers and the Lt. Gov. of Oklahoma, who are of a different political party than the governor, are urging lawmakers to hold back spending tobacco and gambling revenue because collections are lagging. But the governor states that doing so would be breaking faith with voters. Click for more information.
 
Cherokee nation may join lawsuit over Oklahoma tax
The Cherokee Nation has until February 22nd to join area smoke-shop owners in
a lawsuit over Oklahoma's new cigarette-tax rules or the legal challenge may be thrown out. Click for more information.

Oklahoma Tax Commission passes emergency rules regarding tribal cigarette sales
The Oklahoma Tax Commission has enacted emergency rules limiting cigarettes sold at smoke shops licensed by tribes. Wholesalers have been selling cigarettes with the cheaper 6 cent tax stamp to tobacco outlets operating with licenses granted to state tribes. Click for more information.

South Carolina:
 
South Carolina legislators hope for tax increase
South Carolina currently has the lowest cigarette tax in the nation at 7 cents per pack. House Democrats are working on a plan that would raise the tax to 37 cents a pack, with the funds going toward a $100 million health insurance plan for children, low-income workers, employees of small businesses and others. A poll has found that 71% of voters in the state support raising the tax by up to 93 cents per pack. Click for more information on the tax increase and for more information on the poll.

South Dakota:
 
South Dakota anti-smoking coalition supports ballot initiative
A coalition of anti-smoking advocates in South Dakota have gathered enough signatures for a ballot initiative to raise the tax on cigarettes to $1 per pack. The increase would raise more than $40 million, which would be split among several programs, including tobacco cessation and prevention, state Medicaid costs, education and property-tax relief. Click for more information.

Vermont:
 
Vermont House committee recommends cigarette tax increase
The Vermont House Ways and Means Committee has voted to recommend a 60 cent tax increase on cigarettes, with the funds slated to pay for various health reforms. Click for additional information.

West Virginia:
 
West Virginia state house speaker asking for tobacco tax increase
House Democrats in West Virginia would like to increase the state cigarette tax from 55 cents to 95 cents per pack and the tax on smokeless tobacco from 7% to 15%. The proposal is being fought by West Virginia’s Grocers Association. Click for more information.

top

Back to Table of Contents