Excise Taxes

State

Missouri House to look at cigarette tax (MO)
Representative Mary Still has introduced two bills to the Missouri House, both of which would raise the state’s cigarette tax. One bill would raise the tax per pack by $1.00 upon voter approval. The second would increase the tax per pack by $0.12 and would only need to be passed by the Legislature. House Speaker Steven Tilley has indicated that he will not block either bill, allowing them to be considered by the House. However, Tilley is opposed to increasing taxes regardless of the reason, and Missouri voters have rejected two past attempts to raise cigarette taxes. Missouri has the lowest cigarette excise tax in the country at $0.17. Read more here.

Poll: 66% of North Carolina voters favor $1.00 cigarette tax increase to help close budget deficit and fund health programs (NC)
A recent survey of North Carolina voters shows majority support across party lines for a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase that would reduce the state’s budget deficit and fund public health programs. The survey was commissioned by the North Carolina Alliance for Health, a coalition of organizations advocating for tobacco prevention policies, and conducted by an independent polling firm. Overall, 66% of voters would support a $1 tobacco tax if the revenues were used to fund public health measures. Voters preferred a $1 cigarette tax over other budget-balancing measures, including reducing funding for education, Medicaid health services, closing state prisons or increasing other taxes. In light of the results, the coalition calls upon the state’s General Assembly to take action by increasing the state’s cigarette tax, which is currently the seventh-lowest in the nation. Click here for more details.

Raise taxes on cigarettes? Not in Virginia, says House panel (VA)
The Virginia House Finance Committee has rejected three proposals to increase the state’s cigarette tax. Two separate bills introduced by Delegates Patrick Hope and Ken Plum would have raised the tax per pack to $1.45 and $0.80, respectively, in order to help fund the state’s Medicaid program. Another bill sponsored by Delegate Bill Barlow would have allowed counties within the state to impose local cigarette taxes to become less dependent upon real estate taxes. Virginia’s current cigarette tax is $0.30 per pack, the second-lowest rate in the country behind Missouri. Click here to read more.

Vt. anti-tobacco lobby wants $1-a-pack tax hike (VT)
Public health advocacy groups in Vermont are supporting a bill proposed by Representative George Till that would increase the state tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack. The intent behind the tax increase is twofold; it would offset a proposed $2.1 million budget cut to state tobacco control programs, and would encourage smokers to quit. The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont estimates that a $1 per pack tax increase would cause 2,000 smokers to quit, prevent 3,600 children from starting to smoke, raise money for the state, and reduce Medicaid spending on illnesses related to tobacco use. Those who oppose the bill are wary of unintended consequences, such as sales moving to neighboring states and reducing business in the state. Vermont’s current excise tax is $2.24 per pack. Read more here.

Cigarette tax hike debated (WV)
The West Virginia House and Senate are debating a pair of bills seeking to raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack. The House bill would raise the tax per pack of cigarettes from $0.55 to $1.55, and on other tobacco products from 7% of the wholesale price to 50%. Funds raised by the taxes would go to tobacco prevention and cessation programs, public health and substance abuse programs, healthcare, and the state General Fund. The Senate bill has the same tax increases as the House bill, but the revenue would go toward publicly funded retiree health care and Medicaid, with smaller portions going to oral health, substance abuse, in-home care, and tobacco prevention. The House bill was recently discussed in a public hearing and is in the House Health and Human Resources Committee; the Senate version has cleared the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee and is now in the Senate Finance Committee. Click here to read more about the House bill, or click here to read more about the Senate bill.

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