Little Sympathy for Sinners on Taxes
On Sunday, May 13, my latest op-ed piece about the so-called “sin taxes” included in Connecticut’s budget was published by CT News Junkie.
The tax on cigarettes, already at $3.00 per pack of twenty, will climb to $3.40/pack on July 1, 2011. With many states confronting budget deficits, it remains to be seen where that tax will put CT on the nationwide rankings of cigarette taxes, but there is little doubt that it will be somewhere near the top. According to Tax Foundation data as of January 1, 2011, Connecticut’s tax was tied for 8th highest in the nation. If every other state held their cigarette tax even, Connecticut would jump to third highest behind New York ($4.35/pack) and Rhode Island ($3.46/pack).
In addition to being an unsympathetic group, cigarette smokers have been popular targets because raising their taxes has always been a reliable way of raising money. Since 2001, state revenue from cigarette taxes has risen a whopping 116% (See above graph). By contrast, revenue from the state’s sales and use tax has experienced a net decline of 17.7% during the same period.
Those who enjoy an alcoholic beverage will pay a little more for the privilege, too. The excise tax on a barrel of beer or hard cider will climb to $7.20 from $6, wine drinkers will see a small rise in their costs, and liquor taxes will increase from $4.50 to $5.40 per gallon. As of January 1, 2011, Connecticut’s beer tax ranked 25th in the nation, tax on wine ranked 25th, and 26th for liquor taxes.
Read the full article at CT News Junkie.
