Excise Taxes

State

New tax increase materials from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Because many states are working for tobacco tax increases, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has assembled a toolkit that contains all of the materials recently used in a campaign to raise Georgia’s cigarette tax. All of the materials can easily be adapted by other states. Click here to access the toolkit, which contains flyers, print and radio ads, scripts for a phone patch-through effort, and PowerPoint slides on the positive effects of past tax increases in Georgia, Kansas, and Missouri. States may reach out to their TFK regional advocacy director for assistance in modeling the strategies used in Georgia.

House speaker not crazy about cigarette tax (GA)
Despite wide support among voters and House members, a proposal of a $1 cigarette tax increase in Georgia has stalled in the House. The speaker for the Georgia House of Representatives, David Ralston, does not support the bill, as its main goal is to raise revenue instead of encouraging quitting, claiming that increasing the tax will decrease sales, and thus not provide the total revenue necessary. The bill’s supporters say that raising the tax would put the state cigarette tax in line with the national average, and would help pay for Medicaid costs due to tobacco-related illness. Read more here. Update: Georgia House OKs new revenue streams Legislators have repeatedly voted against the cigarette tax proposal. A hospital tax and other revenue sources appear to be the favored solutions for balancing the state budget. Click here for more information.

Special session ends with passage of cigarette tax (NM)
New Mexico’s House has approved a 75-cent cigarette tax increase, despite arguments over how the tax revenue should be spent. The House had originally agreed on putting $11 million of the $33 expected funds towards K-12 education, but the Senate changed the allocation so that the money was split between state pre-kindergarten programs and early childhood programs. The change made some legislatures hesitant to vote for the tax increase, but the measure passed 40-20. Click here to read more.

House OKs 30-cent hike for cigarette tax (SC)
South Carolina House members voted to keep a 30-cent per pack tobacco tax increase in the state’s spending plan. The tax is intended to help alleviate budget cuts to state health care systems. Larger tax increases that would have been used to subsidize health insurance for private employers and low-income workers were rejected. South Carolina currently has the lowest state cigarette tax at seven cents per pack. Should the bill pass, it will be the first cigarette tax increase in the state in over thirty years. Click here to read more.

Lawmakers OK $1 per pack cigarette tax hike (UT)
The Utah Legislature has passed a measure that will increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by about $1. The tax is expected to generate around $44 million to support critical programs that would have faced budget cuts otherwise. Opponents of the bill say that the tax will unjustly target smokers in a tough economy. Click here to read more about the bill, or click here to read a press release from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids about the merits of the tax. Update: Utah Gov likely to OK tax hike without signature Governor Gary Herbert has said that he intends to allow the bill to pass without his signature in order to deflect attention from his role in passing the law. Read more here.

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