Excise Taxes

State

New tobacco tax fact sheets from TFK
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has updated its state tobacco tax fact sheets after cigarette tax increases were passed in Utah, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Washington. As of April 29, the overall average state tax was $1.41 per pack. Just one year ago, the average was $1.21. Collectively, forty six states and Washington, DC have increased cigarette tax rates 101 times since 2002. Click here to view the latest state tobacco tax map, or view a table of state tax rates here. Click here to access the full array of tobacco tax fact sheets on TFK’s website.

Lawmakers pass bill to tax loose tobacco (CT)
A bill to tax loose tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes has been approved by Connecticut lawmakers, and will now undergo a Senate vote. Similar bills have been proposed in the past few years, but have not made it past a committee. The goal of reducing the state’s budget deficit has invigorated support for the tax proposal. The tax will increase the price of loose tobacco by about fifteen cents per cigarette. Click here to read more.

Hawaii lawmakers OK oil, cigarette tax increases (HI)
The Hawaii House and Senate have both approved a cigarette tax increase. Combined with two one-cent tax increases that are already on tap for this year, the new tax will raise the total state cigarette tax by 40 cents. Click here for more information. Update: Hawaii Legislature passes $10.2B budget, tax hikes Although Governor Linda Lingle vetoed tax hikes on oil, estates, and traffic abstracts, she has approved a cigarette tax increase, which is expected to bring in $11 million in revenue. Read more here.

SC Senate OKs 50-cent cigarette tax increase (SC)
The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would increase the state’s cigarette tax by fifty cents per pack. Supporters of the bill claim that the tax increase is a vital funding source for Medicaid programs that will be expanded as part of the federal health care bill. The state cigarette tax of seven cents per pack is the lowest in the country, and has not increased since 1977. Read more here. Update: House approves cigarette tax increase  South Carolina’s House has approved the tax increase, keeping most of the components set forth in the Senate version of the bill.  The House also rejected a proposal to decrease the tax hike to 30 cents per pack, a move that could prevent the two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate that would be needed to override the expected veto from Governor Sanford. Click here to read more.

Wash. lawmakers OK $1-per-pack cigarette tax hike (WA)
The Washington House and Senate have passed a law that will add $1 to the price of a pack of cigarettes. The law will go into effect on May 1, bringing the total tax per pack to just over $3; taxes for cigars and smokeless tobacco will increase as well. The tax increase is part of a strategy to raise $800 million for the state budget while discouraging tobacco use. Click here to read more, or click here to read a press release from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids congratulating Washington lawmakers on this health win for the state. Update: Washington governor signs package of tax hikes Governor Chris Gregoire signed the cigarette tax into law on April 23. Read more here.

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National

State cigarette excise taxes --- United States, 2009
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describing cigarette excise taxes in the United States. The CDC reviewed data from the State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) database to identify states that enacted excise tax increases on cigarettes. Cigarette taxes increases were enacted in fifteen states in 2009, ranging from $0.10 to $1.00, raising the national average tax from $1.18 per pack in 2008 to $1.34 per pack in 2009. Major tobacco-producing states have lower mean excise taxes on cigarettes than the other states ($0.40 per pack versus $1.46 per pack). Only four states have not increased the state cigarette excise tax in the past decade. Click here for a summary of the findings, or click here to read the full report.

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