Higher tax on tobacco would be a real drag
Categories:
· Tax
International:
· U.K.
|
|
Source:http://www.theoutlookonline.com/,2010-02-19
|
|
A pack of cigarettes could cost an extra quarter in Multnomah County if county leaders get their way.
Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, once the top Democrat in the state House of Representatives, was buttonholing her buddies in Salem this week, trying to persuade lawmakers at February’s special session to end the ban on city and county tobacco taxes.
“One of the reasons I ran for office was to get Multnomah County on sound financial footing,” Kafoury says. “We are still in financial trouble despite the recent passage of the tax measures.”
Kafoury and other county commissioners say they lack the same money-raising avenues the city of Portland has, so they’re turning to the Legislature to allow more local taxes.
County commissioners figure they could raise $8 million a year by levying a local 25-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes, Kafoury says. That would dissuade more teens from buying cigarettes, she says, and help the county meet surging demand for health care and other social services during the recession.
A similar proposal passed the House in 2009, and she’s confident it could pass again this month. But the vote in the Senate “is going to be close,” Kafoury says.
Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, introduced the proposal, Senate Bill 1042, at Multnomah County’s behest. Rep. Nick Kahl, D-Gresham, also sponsored the bill.
Considering the poor economy and last week’s approval of two state-wide tax measures, “This may be difficult to pass,” Monnes Anderson said.
But her interest in preventing teens from smoking drove her to back the bill. “It has been proven that when you increase the cost of cigarettes, the young people are the ones that don’t buy them,” she said.
Kahl said the bill also gives governments a chance to create new ways to pay the “significant” price of social services and health care, all while preserving local control.
“In Rockwood, where I grew up, these dollars are desperately needed,” he said, adding that the bill would allow Gresham – in fact any city or county – to enact its own cigarette tax if the city wanted to. “Local governments should have local control to deal with their own issues. This gives them an opportunity to do that.”
Convenience stores, such as Plaid Pantry, oppose the bill, fearing it will cause customers to shop in another county for their cigarettes and other products.
“You’re penalizing retailers because they’re located in one jurisdiction,” says Richard Kosesan, a Salem lobbyist for the convenience-store trade group.
He also warns that state cigarette taxes, which help pay for health care for the poor, could drop as they did after the Legislature banned indoor smoking at bars.
Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, concurs, and opposes the bill.
The cigarette tax is “maxed out” as a source of revenue, Metsger says, after Congress added a 62-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes last year to pay for children’s health coverage. That made the federal cigarette tax $1.01 per pack, on top of Oregon’s state tax of $1.18 a pack.
“You tax it more, you’re just going to get less,” Metsger says. “New Jersey is the prime example of that.”
Metsger also predicts money-raising measures are a non-starter during the February session, coming on the heels of two major tax increases ratified by voters.
“Anything that has three letters that start with a ‘t’ and end with an ‘x’ is not going to be on the table this February,” he says. “I think everybody’s ready for a hiatus on this topic.”
But Portland Democrats are fairly influential in the Legislature these days, and the party has a comfortable majority in both chambers. SB 1042 doesn’t raise a dime; it allows cities and counties to charge their own cigarette taxes. As a result, the bill only needs a simple majority, not the three-fifths majority required for tax increases.
Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, who leads the House revenue committee, says there are disadvantages to having different cigarette taxes in different communities of the state because it distorts sales.
But he says schools and local governments have been short of funds since voters sharply reduced property taxes in 1990 and then capped the growth of property values for tax-assessment purposes in 1996.
Many Oregon counties also face a crippling loss of federal funds allocated to timber-dependent communities.
SB 1042 has the support of the Oregon League of Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties.
There are plenty of precedents around the country. Kafoury says about 450 other cities and counties outside Oregon have their own cigarette taxes.
Voters opposed to measures 66 and 67 are likely to fume if Multnomah County enacts a local cigarette tax on top of those sizable state tax increases.
Kafoury fears the opposite reaction if the county makes more cuts this year, right after more than 70 percent of county voters approved both tax increases.
“Multnomah County voters are going to be confused,” she says.
Smoking taxes
Oregon: $1.18 (22nd-highest among the states)
Washington: $2.025 (5th-highest)
California: 87 cents
Idaho: 57 cents
Those come on top of the federal tax of $1.01
New York City, at $5.26 a pack, has the nation’s highest cigarette taxes, combining city, state and national taxes.
Legislature will look at other bills during session
In addition to backing a bill that would end a ban on city and county tobacco taxes, Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson and Rep. Nick Kahl, both Gresham-based Democrats, also are introducing other bills during the February special session.
• SB 1003 – Sponsored by Monnes Anderson, this bill would help small businesses maintain health insurance benefits for employees. In order to get better rates, some companies pool together to create association health plans. Such plans require that 95 percent of employees stay in the plan, but as more companies reduce positions to part-time, fewer employees can afford to take part. The bill would allow companies to apply for a waiver to the 95-percent retention rate.
• HB 3615 – Sponsored by Kahl, this bill would apply the Unfair Trade Practices Act to banks and insurance companies, which are now exempt in Oregon. The bill provides consumer protection against banks and insurance companies that misrepresent themselves, resulting in damages to consumers, and allows the state attorney general to sue banks and insurance companies that don’t adhere to the law.
Legislators are also expected to focus on extending unemployment benefits for thousands of out-of-work Oregonians, as well as creating a constitutional amendment that would change how often the Legislature meets.
It now meets in general session every other year but often meets in special sessions during the interim. Some legislators want to meet annually as most states do.
Oregon’s business energy tax credit, also known as BETC or Besty, also could be changed. Critics say the credits cost taxpayers too much.
This issue could have repercussion for Gresham, which is trying to woo solar companies and other green industries to the area, said Rep. Greg Matthews, D-Gresham. |
|
|
Tobacco Hot news and Information...
| | |
|
Tobacco firm to auction 5.5-acre Marol plot
|
>>>
|
|
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/,2010-09-07 |
|
| |
One of the prime properties at Marol in Andheri, owned by Golden Tobacco Limited (GTL), has been put on the block for sale. The company will conduct an auction for its 5.5 acre plot on Tuesday. The reserve price for the plot has been fixed at Rs 50 crore by the company and they have taken a
|
|
|
| | |
|
KT&G Joins With Imperial Tobacco Group
|
>>>
|
|
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/,2010-09-03 |
|
| |
KT&G, South Korea's foremost tobacco company, sealed a partnership with Imperial Tobacco Group under which the former will manufacture products for the latter this year.
|
|
|
| | |
|
Our very own Tobacco Road
|
>>>
|
|
Source: http://www.southtownstar.com/,2010-05-20 |
|
| |
What do you get when local legislators can't get anything meaningful done but really want to show the folks at home they are working hard?
|
|
|
|
|
