Mo. higher ed board backs tobacco tax increase

Friday, September 7, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education has endorsed a ballot initiative asking voters to raise tobacco taxes.

The November ballot item would raise Missouri’s cigarette tax to 90 cents a pack. The current 17-cent tax is the lowest nationally. The initiative also would raise taxes on other tobacco products.

The proposal is projected to generate between $283 million and $423 million annually. Fifty percent of the money would go to public schools, 30 percent to higher education and 20 percent to efforts intended to prevent people from using tobacco or help them quit.

The state coordinating board said the measure could generate at least $84 million annually for higher education. It said the new revenues could make college more affordable and improve economic development efforts.

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spelchek 8 months, 2 weeks ago

So those representing higher education are hoping to raise revenues by taxing tobacco to the point nobody will want to smoke them.

JCLifer 8 months, 2 weeks ago

That is a very good idea. Instead of taking in $300 million from cigarettes, we would not have to spend $600 million on cigarette smokers and their diseases. Seems like a very good deal to me.

tonto_goldberg 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Too logical, but I like it.

Paroquet 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Just put a higher-ed tax on water and hit everybody one cent (or fraction thereof) for every gallon above the typical amount used by some arbitrary category (home, sm./lg. business, water intensive consumer, etc.) . That'll help with water conservation and raise monies for schools both.

People can live without smoking. No person/hood can live without water.

BillyJoeRayBob 8 months, 2 weeks ago

This is news ? Supporting a tax on someone else to help your own cause ? Move along .. nothing to see here folks ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

DixieChick 8 months, 2 weeks ago

I'm just curious - since research proves that the number of smokers is decreasing everyday, why pin another tax on tobacco? Especially since the taxes on alcohol haven't been increased since the 1970s...seems like that would provide a much more stable revenue and since AB in St. Louis is now a european firm, its not like it would hurt the "hometown" business.

Paroquet 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Bzzt. Incorrect.

For a fact in Missouri, not bothering looking it up, taxes on some alcoholic beverages were increased 150% in one of the years from 1988-1990. As usual, it was staggered by category--beer, wine, liquor.

Oh, and historically, the taxation rate for "sin" taxes typically are staggered toward middle-class consumers, e.g. beer & liquor, and cigarettes & snuff, while luxuries favored by elite consumers wine, champagne, cigars, and pipes, were taxed at a much lower rate. Every proposal since the time I've mentioned has been staggered the same, including the most recent federal tax increase on tobacco products.

Just ban them all outright, excepting those manufactured for private personal use and legalize Cannabis as it at least has value-added products in addition to its medicinal and recreational drug effects. It's inexpensive to produce, so you could tax the heck out of it. FYI; unlike tobacco, Cannabis does have recognized medicinal use & so doesn't meet the legal definition of a Schedule A narcotic, notwithstanding that the threshold of "a high propensity for abuse" is also highly dubious outside of it being listed as a Sched. A.

connor 8 months, 2 weeks ago

I personally cannot wait until all the smokers quit because of the taxes and the government leeches come after something the people who have been voting for this madness indulge in. Those who like to complain about medical costs of tobacco users and then suck down 55 gallon drums of soda seem to have no problem with the extremely overweight people walking around that are costing us more than the smokers do medically.

All of you who support this "taxing the stuff I don't care about" attitude better open your eyes because sooner or later they will. Especially since you have given the previous taxes a stamp of approval and opened up this Pandora's Box.

Look at New York's cigarette tax that finally went bust and began costing them more in enforcement and administration than it brought in.

eileen10 8 months, 2 weeks ago

I get sick and tired of being taxed to death so in three years I'll start running for President. You think things are bad now? With me sitting on the throne this country would be scarey. PMS baby! I'd fight everybody!! Whoo. Too much coffee.

cmnsense 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Thank you smokers for keeping my taxes a little lower. Don't ever quit, and encourage your kids to smoke too, because if you all quit they might slap a tax on something I use. /endsarcasm

John 8 months, 2 weeks ago

You can use your humor to deal with this or to NOT deal with this. However, I ask you to consider the following questions.

Consider the number of people employed in the tobacco industry and what they will do when they are completely out of work; tobacco sales people, tobacco wholesalers and their employees, tobacco factory workers, tobacco transportation companies and their employees, tobacco growers and their employees, tobacco paper manufacturers and their employees, tobacco import/export employees, a entire department of the federal (ATFE). I am not supporting tobacco use. I am simply proffering to you that it is not a simple matter.

Also, everyone needs to consider what the gov't will use to fill the hole when there are no more tobacco products to tax. None of you can honestly believe that they (the gov't) will not find another good to tax out of sight. First alcohol products (more so than already taxed), then, what, soda products? The monster will pounce on anything they can to generate money in the coffers of the gov't. Only the voters can stop it by selecting people who favor smaller gov't,

JCLifer 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Tax the hell out of soda and fast food too. Nobody needs any of this stuff and there isn't anything healthy or beneficial about any of them.

newone 8 months, 1 week ago

Coming from someone who support's the government telling us who we can and can not marry! Can you say hypocrite????

spelchek 8 months, 1 week ago

Come on Lifer....surely you're down with individual responsibility. I honestly believe that if Americans all of a sudden switched to water and vegetables you would see taxes on water and veggies raise exponentially. They don't tax us because they care about our health; it is and and always be about the bottom line. Those suckered into demonizing others for participating in something legal (smoking, drinking, drinking a soda over 16 oz., owning a successful business...) walk a slippery slope they don't even realize they're on.

JCLifer 8 months, 1 week ago

There is a huge difference between government taxing (but allowing) bad behavior that the government banning bad behavior.

Psychology 101: Reinforce the behaviors you want to encourage, punish the behaviors you want to discourage.

What about taxing landowners via the property tax? Does that mean the govermenent is trying to demonize owning land? Is the government trying to support renting and discourage land ownership? Same for income tax- is the government trying to discourage people from working?

Think about what our laws and policies reward and what they punish. Maybe you will see some reasons why our country is so messed up.

Psychology 101.

Paroquet 8 months, 1 week ago

Wow Lifer, you jumped the logic train there.

I don't see a lot of laws rewarding anything. Plenty about punishing, but that requires due process. Also, renters do pay property tax. It's paid for by the landlord through the fees collected from the lesees. Renters just don't credit for it. What? You surely didn't think those properties weren't taxed, did you, or that the land owner of a rental pays those taxes from rents collected?

Taxing, but allowing "bad" behavior...novel concept. That hearkens back to the Catholic Church and its practices of allowing parishioners to purchase "indulgences"--you pay to sin in advance of doing so. By that train of thought, I should be able to pay in advance in order to be allowed to drive as fast as I want! I should receive tax deductions for vitamins, exercising, eating right, and living a healthy lifestyle! Now -THAT- would be rewarding. But, it isn't the case, is it? You don't get to write-off good nutrition, club membership, exercise equipment, or nutritional supplements, do you?

Psych 101 does not apply. Sorry.

JCLifer 8 months, 1 week ago

That is my point. There is no rational reasoning here. It is just nuts.

RobHunterJohnson 8 months, 2 weeks ago

I agree tax all the SINS, smokes, chew, alcohol, soda, and fast food! Rob

John 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Okay, tax all the sins. . . after they have killed all of those "sins," what will they tax next . . . . your bar-b-que grill and charcoal because it emits smoke that irritates your neighbor? How about taxing non-farm animals (pets) because they contribute to greenhouse gases. Heck, how about taxing children if you have more than one?

The gov't is hungry people . . . .

JCLifer 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Taxing children is a very good idea. This world is overcrowded as it is, and all the people cannot be fed. Why does the government keep giving tax breaks and subsidies to people to have more children? Even state government pays a lot more medical insurance premium to employees who have lots of children instead of rewarding employees who do not have any children.

John 8 months, 2 weeks ago

You mean that despite all the food thrown away in this country every day we could not feed all the hungry and more besides? Sorry, I disagree.

Littleinvestor 8 months, 1 week ago

In MO, elderly, low income renters can get a tax credit for the estimated property tax their landlord paid, and the renter presumably paid because landlords are generally smart enough to consider the taxes a cost of doing business and consider them when setting the rent amount. The forms are available from county assessors but the filing is with the MO Dept. of Revenue during the income tax season.

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