Vermont Going in the Wrong Direction on Tobacco Taxation [To Less Money on the Green Mountains]

ATR ^ | 2011-04-20 | Joshua Culling

[92nina]

For the most part, the constant upward pressure on cigarette taxes in the Northeast has subsided, as states have consistently failed to realize expected revenue gains. A number of states are even moving to cut these excise taxes to lure consumers that have begun to purchase contraband cigarettes or migrated to lower-tax jurisdictions. Credible proposals exist in New Hampshire, New Jersey and Rhode Island, while Maine Gov. Paul LePage campaigned on a promise to cut tobacco taxes.

But Vermont isn't getting the memo. A proposal to raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack has passed out of the Senate Finance Committee. It would move Vermont from the 10th-highest cigarette tax in the nation to the 3rd-highest, at a time when New Hampshire seeks to cut its tax by 10 cents per pack. If the neighboring proposals are successful, the disparity between the two states will expand from $4.60 per carton to $15.60 per carton...

Read more: http://www.atr.org/vermont-wrong-direction-tobacco-taxation-a6078#ixzz1K5XUkyj9

[92nina]

Will the state of New York be saved from itself via poor decisions by other states? Will New Hampshire become a libertarian paradise? Tune in tomorrow for the continuing adventures in the Nor'easter' States.

Take this article and others I found to the fight to the Libs on their own turf; put the Left on the defensive at at Digg and at Reddit and in Delicious and Stumbleupon

[BenKenobi]

Quebec has a smoke tax of around 2.12 a pack. This means that if Vermont passed the increase, they would have higher taxes than even Quebec.

[Rodamala]

Everyone is wise to the outrageous amount of taxes on tobacco and now buys their smokes exclusively from the Indians. Combine tobacco revenue and casino profits, and by golly, you’ll find some rich Injuns. Good for them!