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Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em in South Carolina
Via our old friend Tax Girl, I discovered that still-South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford vetoed a bill to increase the state tax on a pack of cigarettes by 50 cents.
As discussed in Tax Girl's prior post on the issue, South Carolina currently tacks on only a measly seven cents per pack, lowest in the nation, as compared to the national average of $1.38. Rhode Island leads the league with an admittedly ridiculous sounding $3.46.
You would think a state that brags on its license plates about its "Smiling Faces" might consider it prudent to try to reduce smoking by jacking up prices, but Sanford doesn't think the $125 million in Medicaid funding and $5 million toward cancer research are worthwhile goals unless there is a concomitant reduction in some other tax. I'm guessing his preference would be reducing the sales tax on hiking boots.
Posted by Eric Lipman on May 12, 2010 at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)