Tobacco.org

Our Opinion: Tobacco tax  

Our state is ranked the second-worst state in the country in terms of low- and middle-income people paying a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than do the wealthiest families. This is according to this month's report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington — and it's important to note that it's not the dollar amount paid in taxes, but the percentage of income paid by lower-income families that contributes to the unfairness of our tax structure. The heavy reliance on sales tax is key to the regressiveness, and so is the property tax structure that is out of balance because of an array of amendments that punish newcomers, rental-property owners, small businesses and lower-income folks for whom, again, a larger percentage of their income is going to taxes.

So while the cigarette tax does not represent the worst of all possible worlds, it was and remains another way in which lawmakers avoided a complete overall of our state's antiquated, out-of-balance tax structure.

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