Senate committee passes cigarettee tax hike

A Senate subcommittee has approved a 50-cent per pack increase to the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

The tax increase would raise $158 million, to be used for individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance.
Lawmakers and staff are still working out the final details and said they do not yet know exactly how much the health insurance tax credit will be.

The tax will also be indexed to health care inflation - typically higher than overall inflation. Sen Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, the subcommittee chairman, said indexing the tax would prevent the tax credits from shrinking, as cigarette sales as declining in S.C. and nationally.

Alexander said it is likely the plan will change when the full Financw committee debates the bill this week. Alexander hoped to debate the bill on the Senate floor next week.

Comments

[Jon]

Good move. Higher prices = less smoking = less hospitalization = lower health costs for under-insured patients on the SC taxpayer's dime.

I hope some of the revenue will one day be spent on quitting programs.

[Lee]

This is great news. Hopefully it will go on to pass the entire Senate.

[HHS]

Health and Human Services is the single most wasteful agency in SC.

This money will be unwisely spent, and this opportunity will be wasted.

[Vagabond]

Tax increases on cigarettes mean less money in the pockets of smokers. And that means less money for the economy. This is bad for everyone, including nonsmokers.