Pre-filed bill revisits an increase in the cigarette tax

By Taylor Beck

(MDN News) -- Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, pre-filed a bill calling for an overhaul of certain state taxes.

Lamping's bill would increase the cigarette tax, lower the income rate to a flat 4 percent rate, and increase the state's sales and use tax.

Lamping said he expects the language of the bill to change greatly through the 2013 legislative session, and that the cigarette tax portion is not his main focus.

"The bill is about raising revenue, cutting taxes to a greater degree, and dedicating revenue to infrastructure. I just chose to put the cigarette tax bill inside this bill, and if it comes out of the bill it comes out of the bill, it's not a priority," Lamping said.

In the November election, voters shot down a proposal to raise Missouri's cigarette tax by 73 cents to 90 cents per pack. The defeat was the third time in a decade Missourians have rejected a cigarette tax increase.  

Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, led the opposition to the cigarette tax increase in November. He said this proposal is still too high.

Leone did add that there were certain provisions to this bill that were more agreeable than those in the failed Proposition B.

"While we want to be cautiously optimistic, at this point in time we're going to have to oppose due to the sheer size of it," Leone said.

Missouri voters will decide whether to raise the tobacco tax this November

(Missouri Digital News) -- This November, Missourians will vote on whether to approve a cigarette tax hike.

The initiative, Proposition B, would put an additional 73 cents per pack tax on cigarettes, increasing the total state tax to 90 cents per pack. Missouri currently has the lowest tobacco tax in the nation at 17 cents a pack.      

Prop B is estimated to bring in $283 million to $423 million a year, according to an estimate from the state auditor. The proceeds would be divided between K-12 education, higher education and tobacco prevention and education programs.   

Supporters of Prop B, like Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, said increasing the tax will discourage smoking in Missouri and provide important education funds.

"For potential teenage smokers, there's a strong correlation between price and starting to smoke. And so, we know the tax will produce revenue that we need, and we also hope that it will discourage teenage smokers," Kelly said.

Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said Prop B's 760 percent cigarette tax increase is devastating.       

"It will hurt Missouri consumers, it will force small businesses to close, it will cause people to lose their jobs and it will generate less tax revenue for local and state coffers that are already stretched thin because of the great recession," Leone said.     

Twenty percent of the proceeds from the tax would go toward tobacco abstinence programs, 50 percent for K-12 education and 30 percent to higher education.