Tobacco.org

State budget: Tax cigars and pipe tobacco 

State legislators should support the governor's proposal to hike taxes on cigars and pipe tobacco in the 2011 budget. The increase in the excise tax is expected to raise $15 million, which would help the Commonwealth fend off the sort of revenue shortfalls that force steep cuts in government programs. . . .

In these times of joblessness and economic despair, the state must do all that's possible to preserve the ability of families to feed and clothe themselves. Rather than shore up the safety net through a broader-based tax, in these times of joblessness and economic despair, it makes sense to apply a higher tax to something that is both a luxury and a harm to those who smoke it.

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