South Carolina Snuffs Out Tobacco Tax Hike
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Lack of interest from the Carolina State House Finance Committee led to the demise of a proposed hike in the tobacco tax of $1 per pack of cigarettes.
The cigarette tax increase, along with a proposed tax increase in spit tobacco from 7 percent of the wholesale price to 50 percent, was intended to partially fund $60 million in cessation programs and programs to treat addicts.
A second effort to pass a 45-cent per pack increase on cigarettes also drew a cold shoulder from the members of the finance panel.