The S.C. House approved a 50-cent increase to the state’s lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax Wednesday. But lawmakers are uncertain if they have enough votes to overturn an expected veto by Gov. Mark Sanford. The version approved by the House keeps the basics of a previously approved Senate cigarette tax hike: The 50-cents-a-pack tax would bring in an estimated $136.1 million a year. The money would go to help pay for Medicaid, the state&# ... Jump to full article >>

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They stand waiting at the Manna House for a free lunch. They wait outside the Salvation Army for bed. Some don’t know where their next dollar is coming from. The cigarettes smoking between their fingers suggests how some spent their money. And now, some Georgia legislators want to get even more. A $1 tax on each pack of cigarettes would raise $354 million a year to help plug a big budget hole, they say. Others say no tax is a good tax. With ... Jump to full article >>

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A leading Republican candidate for governor said Monday he would not support raising South Carolina’s cigarette tax – the nation’s lowest – under any conditions. Attorney General Henry McMaster, spurred by a weekend of back-and-forth discussion on the issue with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Rex, said Monday he would not support raising the tax, spokesman Rob Godfrey said. Rex has proposed raising the tax by $1.24 ... Jump to full article >>

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For years, buying low-tax North Carolina cigarettes and selling them on the black market in a high-tax state up north has been an easy way to make big money for criminal enterprises. Load up a van of Camels or Marlboros and reap a $100,000 profit to sell them if the destination is New York City, which has a $1.50-per-pack excise tax in addition to the $2.75 state cigarette tax. “The cigarette tax evasion stampede is out of control,” s ... Jump to full article >>

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New Mexico smokers could soon be shelling out more money for cigarettes if a group of democratic lawmakers get their way with a plan to raise the tobacco tax. A pack of smokes could cost a dollar more if a pair of veteran lawmakers can convince enough of their colleagues that a tobacco tax hike would be good for the state’s bank account as well as public health. Right now the cigarette tax is 91 cents a pack, though it would rise to $1.91 i ... Jump to full article >>

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Bulgarian smokers will have to swallow a raise in excise duties on cigarettes and their prices as of January 1, as the government struggles to curb smoking and relieve the health care system. Under a decision that the parliament took at the end of November, a BGN 101 excise duty for 1000 cigarettes is introduced instead of the previous BGN 41, while the proportional tax is 23% of the sales price instead of 40,5%. The latter will affect mostly exp ... Jump to full article >>

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