21 States Join the Federal Government and Raise Tobacco Taxes

The list of states now joining the Federal government in raising tobacco taxes is growing rapidly. Hard economic times are causing many states to consider tobacco tax increases even though the Federal government just raised theirs again. There are many arguments for and against the increases, but the states that have not yet participated will probably proceed as planned. The main argument for raising cigarette taxes is summed up nicely in a Salt Lake Tribune article by Paul Rolly.

"But here is an interesting fact compiled by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Every state that has raised its cigarette tax has gained more tax revenue, even though such tax increases reduce smoking.

Arizona, for example, raised its cigarette tax in 2006 by 82 cents per pack. That resulted in a 32.5 percent decrease in cigarette sales and a $44.5 million increase in revenue. When Alaska raised its tax by 60 cents in 2005, sales plummeted by 23.2 percent and tax revenues jumped by $9.4 million. "

Even though actual cigarette sales decrease, the tax revenues increase. The smokers in all these states will now be getting hit with a new state tax on top of the 62 cent per pack increase planned by the Federal government, which will occur on April 1st. Most store owners are against these taxes because of the inevitable decline in sales that will occur.

The list here shows states that have raised cigarette taxes or are in the process of doing so.

Each state tab below is linked to the source of the information, and credit for the information goes to that source.

Arkansas, up 56 cents per pack- MSNBC article by Jill Zeman
Delaware, up 45 cents per pack- Delaware Online article by Ginger Gibson
Florida, up $1 per pack- Miami Herald article by Fred Grim
Georgia,up 62 cents per pack- AJC article by Jim Tudor
Illinois, up $1 per pack- Salt Lake Tribune article by Paul Rolly
Kentucky, up 60 cents per pack- The Louisville Courier-Journal
Louisiana, up $1 per pack- Daily Comet article by John Dan Gielan
Minnesota, pending- ClearWay Minnesota article
Mississippi,up 31 cents per pack- CommercialAppeal article by Phil West
Nevada, pending- Seattle Times article by Cathy Bussewitz
New Jersey, up 12 cents per pack- Bloomberg article by Berrence Dopp
New Hampshire, $1 per pack- Citizen.com article by Jason Claffey
New Mexico, up $1 per pack- Silver City Sun article, AP
North Carolina, up $1 per pack- Examiner.com article by Anna Looper
Oregon, up 60 cents per pack- KCBY News article by Nicole Plascencia
Pennsylvania, up 10 cents per pack- TribLive News article by Thomas A. Briant
South Carolina, up 60 cents per pack- WIS10 article by Stewart Moore
Utah, pending- Salt Lake Tribune article by Paul Rolly
Virginia, up 65 cents per pack- WDTV News article by Julia Pizzonia
West Virginia, up 65 cents per pack- MSNBC article by Lawrence Messina
Wisconsin, pending- Royal Purple article by Tawnie Thompson

Thanks for reading