Excise Taxes

House leaders hope to rescue health bill
In a vote on a modified expansion bill of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the House of Representatives again fell short of the necessary votes to override a promised presidential veto. Even though this version of the bill decreased or removed the eligibility of adults, illegal immigrants and families making more than $62,000, concerns expressed by Republicans about the original bill, the House still fell 13 votes short of being able to override a veto. House Democrats will now attempt to engage Republicans in a dialogue about whether additional modifications will enable them to secure the necessary votes to overturn a veto by President Bush. Click here to read more.

Bush vetoes child health insurance plan
President Bush has vetoed an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) citing that it is too expensive, that it would extend coverage to people who may not need help, and that it would encourage people with private insurance to switch to government insurance. He would like a $5 billion expansion, which falls far short of the $35 billion extension recently approved by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. That version would cover an additional 4 million children over the next five years by increasing the federal tobacco tax by 61 cents, making it an even one dollar. Democratic House representatives are currently attempting to persuade 15 House Republicans to change positions so the Legislature can overturn the veto. Click here to read more or click here to read the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ response, written by Executive Director William V. Corr.

Tobacco companies win in SCHIP fight, for now
The House of Representatives failed to override President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP expansion. The representatives voted 273-156, which was thirteen votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto. Click here to see which representatives voted to override the veto, or click here to read more about the highly contentious debate. Click here to view the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ response, written by Executive Director William V. Corr.

Wisconsin legislature delivers victory for kids and taxpayers by increasing cigarette tax, tobacco prevention funding
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and state legislators have reached an agreement to raise the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack. A report released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that the $1 increase will save 65,800 children in Wisconsin from becoming smokers, encourage 33,000 current smokers to quit, save 30,000 residents from smoking-related deaths, and generate $15 million per year for Wisconsin’s tobacco prevention program, among other benefits. Click here to read the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ response, written by Executive Director William V. Corr.

New report: Increasing Oregon’s cigarette tax will reduce smoking, save lives
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has released a new report that outlines the expected benefits of increasing Oregon’s cigarette tax by 84.5 cents. Some of the benefits highlighted in the report include preventing more than 29,000 Oregon youth from becoming smokers, encouraging more than 15,000 adults to quit smoking, generating nearly $700 million in healthcare savings, and raising almost $100 million annually to expand healthcare coverage to over 100,000 needy children. Click here to view the report.

Cigarette companies burning through millions to defeat Measure 50
Tobacco companies, including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, have raised more than $9 million to defeat Oregon’s Measure 50, which would increase the cigarette tax by 84.5 cents to fund children’s healthcare. This figure exceeds the previous record for ballot measure spending by more than $2 million, and exceeds the spending of Measure 50 proponents by more than $7 million. It is unclear how this disparity in campaign financing will play out in the November election. Click here to read more or click here to view the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ response, written by Executive Director William V. Corr. Ballot title, text of the measure, an explanatory statement, and arguments for and against the measure are available on the Secretary of State’s website by clicking here.

Maryland Governor says doubling cigarette tax will improve health, cut deficit
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has announced that he would like to raise the state cigarette tax to $2 per pack. The extra revenue generated from this tax increase would go towards paying down the state’s $1.7 billion deficit and to help pay for healthcare coverage. The tax would generate $85 million in the first six months, which would be put aside for healthcare coverage, while the $170 million generated during the fiscal year starting July 1, 2008 would go towards the deficit. In order to be implemented, the tax measure would need to be passed by the General Assembly in a special session. Click here to read more or click here to view a report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids that outlines the health and economic benefits that could be expected as a result of a $1 increase in Maryland’s cigarette tax.

Iowa: Sales drop follows cigarette tax increase
Since Iowa raised the state cigarette tax by one dollar to $1.36, sales have dropped approximately 30 percent, while calls to the quitline have more than tripled. A spokesman for the State Department of Revenue indicated that the drop in sales has been consistent with expected trends, and is due to a decrease in demand as well as some residents purchasing cigarettes from neighboring states or over the Internet.  In terms of the quitline, calls have increased 1,515 from March to August of 2006 to 5,050 for the same period in 2007. Click here to read more.

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