Excise Taxes

State

Connecticut cigarette tax increase delivers victory for kids and taxpayers (CT)
The Connecticut state budget, which became law in early September, will increase the state tax on cigarettes from $2 to $3 per pack. The tax increase, which will become effective on October 1, will make Connecticut’s cigarette tax the second-highest in the country. Although taxing cigarettes has been proven to be an effective way to encourage smokers to quit, the state is missing an opportunity to support cessation by not offering programs to help smokers quit. Click here for more details. Click here to read a press release from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Proposed taxes on cigarettes, bottled water (MI)
In order to avoid a shutdown of state services, Michigan legislators are rushing to reach an agreement on the state budget by October 1. Governor Jennifer Granholm has proposed several tax increases. Among them is a proposal to raise the cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack, to a total rate of $2.25. Read more here.

Smokeless tobacco escapes tax (PA)
Pennsylvania legislators have decided against a budget proposal to begin taxing cigars, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products at the same rate as cigarettes. Pennsylvania remains the only state that does not tax these products. The current proposal will increase the cigarette tax by 25 cents to $1.60, and extend the cigarette tax rate to small cigars, which are often sold in packs similarly to cigarettes. Lawmakers believed that the proposal to tax smokeless tobacco, cigars, and other tobacco would not have bridged the state’s considerable budget gap. Public health advocates view the situation as a missed opportunity thwarted by tobacco industry lobbying; the latest tax proposal took shape after lobbyists from Altria redirected lawmakers’ attention to the growing popularity of small cigars, which are considered competition to the “Black & Mild” cigars that are produced in Pennsylvania. Click here to read more.

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