Excise Taxes

National

Updated list of state cigarette tax rates and rankings
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has updated its resources on state and local tobacco tax rates. Several fact sheets have been updated as of August 1. New data are available on a wide variety of topics including state tobacco tax rates and rankings, a state by state listing of pregnancy-related benefits and cost savings from raising cigarette taxes, and state revenue gains from tobacco taxes. Click here to download a listing of state cigarette tax rates and rankings, or click here for a full listing of available fact sheets.

Paterson to negotiate with Native Americans over cigarette taxes (NY)
In a special legislative session, the New York Senate passed a law that could end tax-free tobacco sales from American Indian retailers to non-Indians. While the state would stand to benefit from increased tax revenue, Governor David Paterson has not yet committed to signing the bill. Seneca Nation President Maurice A. John Sr. has promised a legal battle if the law is passed, and past efforts to collect tobacco taxes from Indian reservations have met resistance and violence. Recognizing that other governors have failed in similar efforts to collect taxes, Governor Paterson plans to negotiate with tribal leaders to reach an “accommodation.” According to an estimate from a New York tobacco prevention group, the state of New York loses $400 million a year in tax revenue because of tax-free cigarette sales on Indian reservations. Read more here.

Cigarette taxes are up -- so is smuggling (MD)
According to reports, Maryland’s cigarette tax increase has succeeded in cutting cigarette sales, but has also had the unintended effect of increasing smuggling. Since the tax hike took effect in January, seizures by the Maryland Comptroller’s Office have increased fourfold over last year’s numbers during that period. While state officials hesitate to attribute the rise in smuggling solely to the tax increase, it is believed that the availability of cheaper cigarettes in neighboring states has contributed to the problem. In their surveillance, agents with the comptroller’s field enforcement team have spotted more Maryland residents buying cigarettes in Virginia, where the cigarette tax is 30 cents a pack, compared to Maryland’s $2 per pack. Despite retailers’ lost profits from flagging cigarette sales, the state is still expected to benefit from increased tax revenue and lowered healthcare costs, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Find out more here.

Pact may help settle Oklahoma tobacco dispute (OK)
The Comanche Nation has signed a compact agreeing to tax cigarettes at 51.5 cents per pack, or half the state excise tax rate, plus a fifteen cent tribal tax. The compact gives other tribes the option to similarly change their agreements with the state. While the agreement raises the percentage of the money the state receives from the tribe’s tobacco sales, it widens the tribe’s price advantage over non-tribal retailers. Nontribal retailers are not pleased with the change, but State Treasurer Scott Meacham says that the deal is a compromise that gives the state more revenue, while returning the 36.5-cent price advantage tribal retailers had prior to a 2004 tax increase. Click here to find out more.

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