Smoking could be more taxing
Senate panel votes for 50-cent boost
COLUMBIA — South Carolina smokers could be shelling out more in taxes for a pack of cigarettes for the first time in more than 30 years.
The Senate Finance Committee pushed forward a plan late Tuesday that would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 7 cents, the lowest in the nation, to 57 cents. The money generated would bring an additional 177,000 people, including more than 70,000 children, into the Medicaid insurance program.
The Post and Courier/File
The Senate Finance Committee pushed forward a plan late Tuesday that would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 7 cents, the lowest in the nation, to 57 cents.
Opponents say the proposal has a slim chance of becoming law, although there seems to be significant support for increasing the tax and applying the revenue to health care. The committee's 14-8 vote for approval surprised even Senate Minority Leader John Land, who proposed the idea.
"It's an opportunity that comes along once in a political lifetime," said Land, D-Manning, who has served in the Legislature since 1975.
At 57 cents per pack, the tax would generate an estimated $159 million. Of that, $5 million would go toward a smoking cessation and prevention program and the rest would be used to leverage federal funds for Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income people. The federal government gives $3 for Medicaid for every $1 of state money.
In all, that would pour $511 million more each year into the Medicaid program.
Emma Forkner, director of the state's Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that administers Medicaid, said she was pleased to see the senators' commitment to use an increase in the cigarette tax for health care.
As for the money it could mean for Medicaid, Forkner said, "It's too early yet to get excited."
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said increasing the tax without a corresponding tax decrease would face a high hurdle in the Senate. He favors an earlier proposal that would use the revenue generated by a 50-cent per pack increase to provide tax credits for individuals and small businesses to purchase health care insurance.
Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, pushed for the committee to adopt that plan. Many of his fellow committee members were not sold on the idea, mainly because research showed the credit would only be worth about $475.
Land said health care coverage, even in its basic form, is much more expensive than that. One estimate put the cost at $4,200 a year for an adult and $1,500 a year for child, although the price tag varies depending on the policy and the level of coverage.
"That's not going to buy any kind of meaningful policy," Land said. "I think we're just fooling ourselves to think this approach has any viable means to it at all."
Grooms argued that researchers had estimated that 90 percent of 346,000 eligible workers would take the credit; and for every person who didn't, the credit would grow.
If the state helped about 311,000 more people get health insurance, "we've done something good," Grooms said. He said he could not vote for the Medicaid proposal because of the burden it could put on the state's general fund if the demand for insurance exceeds the revenue generated by the cigarette tax.
"This would create an unfunded liability to the state," Grooms said. "I'm going to vote against anything that won't empower people."
A variation of the plan to use cigarette tax revenue toward health insurance tax credits was endorsed by a group of health care, business and insurance industry leaders who have come together to form the "Covering Carolina Collaborative."
A plan to increase the cigarette tax passed the House last year, but the proposal has changed significantly and it would likely face additional challenges there before it could ever make it to the governor's desk.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.
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Comments
auger (anonymous) says...
Singling out a specific group to fund something not directly related to them is never a good idea. Obesity is the number one killer right now and it is most directly related to poor diet and inactivity. Why not tax fast food, junk food, soda, and inactive lifestyles instead.
I believe that this proposal would have unexpected consequences for the states economy. I am a smoker and am also retired military. I currently shop in the same stores as my neighbors. If this tax is approved, I will simply buy my cigarettes on a military base where state/local tax's do not apply. While I am there, I might as well purchase my groceries, clothing, electronics, and other needs as well (again without having to pay state/local tax's) instead of supporting the local economy.
There are a lot of military and retired military personnel, many of whom smoke, living within easy access of a military installation in the state of South Carolina.
Is this really such a good idea?
April 2, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
They will auger. An extra $5 a carton is enough to make some folks without access to a military installation quit. When that money quits rolling in the government will be going after your cokes, coffee, danishes, cookies, fast food, etc...
Remember the huge amount of money they got in the lawsuit? They borrowed against the entire amount, spent it as fast as they could on everything but what they said they had to have it for, now we're paying for it with interest. The same will happen with the extra cigarette tax monies they expect to get, and when it doesn't produce they'll have to go after some other vice.
April 2, 2008 at 7:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mdtpace (anonymous) says...
I have no problem with them raising the tax from .07, which is ridiculous and an obvious nod to the tobacco production of this state, but if anything, it should fund a law enforcement effort to go out and clean up the fraud that takes place in the Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment, and other social programs that are abused in this state. That effort would yield a much larger return than $159,000,000.00 and the offenders could be sentenced to walk the highways picking up trash and roadkill which would help them lose the weight they have gained sucking on the state's teat.
April 2, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
feb251939 (anonymous) says...
OK, lawmakers, I think you have tunnel vision when it comes to raising taxes, have you ever considered there are other 'sin taxes' to pick on?
How about alcohol? THIS product doesn't take 50 or 60 years to shorten someones life. It kills in a split second and the impact on family members is well documented.
Drunk drivers take the lives of not just themselves but innocent people every day, they take the lives of young children, babies and parents who did nothing wrong but be in the path of a person who drank too much of low priced alcohol.
TAX IT, lawmakers. TAX the producers, TAX the sellers, TAX the consumers, TAX them hard and TAX them long and show us you truly have the courage to take on THIS powerful lobby group.
April 2, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
What % of low income families smoke?
What % of low income families eat out 2 to 3 times a week?
What % of low income families have more than one vehicle?
Fraud is everywhere!
April 2, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
auger (anonymous) says...
raregar67, Thank you for the kind words. I must make you aware of one point regarding Keith Summey. He IS a big man, but he is also a very strong man. I found that out at a Stingrays game many years ago. He has a vise like grip that will bring tears to your eyes as you shake his hand. Just wanted you to know.
April 2, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zmysticman (anonymous) says...
This state should catch up with the other states that charge $8-$10 dollars a pack, and get this, people still smoke like chimneys there and no one has quit!! The money raised on cigarette tax will help you one day when you have to carry the oxygen tank around becuase you cant breathe. Smoke up!!!
April 2, 2008 at 10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dmwallac (anonymous) says...
It is as bad as politics get: pick an unpopular group/habit and victimize them through taxation. Oh, and if you contend that the intent is to discourage smoking then how are you going to fund your new medicaid liability if your discouragement succeeds?
Hypocrisy.
April 2, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Nonsense (anonymous) says...
zmysticman you are correct - cigarette tax is much higher in other states - particularly up north - it is time that South Carolina caught up and maybe this would be a good time for people to quit smoking. I agree that there is a fast food restaurant on every corner and people are obese and obesity also kills, along with cigarettes. But cigarettes are more disgusting and pollute the air around for everybody. I have seen too many older people having to carry around the green oxygen tanks because of smoking so many years. But I have also sat beside people at sporting events that were so fat they took up half of my space. But given a choice, I would rather tax the heck out of cigarettes......
April 2, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mypointofview (anonymous) says...
Increase the cigarette tax? Yes
Let it benefit only low-income through Medicaid? No
April 2, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Xnavykat (anonymous) says...
Good time to quit.
April 2, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
feb251939 (anonymous) says...
[He IS a big man]
Auger, he is not just 'big' he is morbidly obese and as far as his 'manly' handshake, ANYBODY can hurt someone with a handshake, it's nothing more than trying to intimidate someone and it's usually an issue of over compensating.
April 2, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DixieTiger (anonymous) says...
Obesity will soon overtake tobacco use as the number one cause of preventable death in the US. Wake down the street in Charleston and sometimes you have to press yourself up against a building to let a morbidly obese individual walk past you. Obesity and its health risks (i.e. high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.) are silent killers. It's a shame that millions of people in the world are starving to death and Americans eat themselves to death. If you raise tax on cigarettes then please raise tax on fast food, soft drinks, fried foods, etc. Cigarettes companies have restrictions on advertising but television is filled with commercials that advertise products that cause obesity and often these commercials are targeted at children. Obesity in children is at alarming rates, but no legislature in the nation will adopt laws to raise the price on candy or adopt age restrictive laws to keep kids from purchasing these obesity causing items. Use these tax dollars on obesity to provide incentives for people to join gyms and to pay into Medicare.
April 2, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
raregar67 - My point was! Quit relying on others for everything! Stop taxing me - Stop income redistribution!
Get a job and buy your own health care!
April 2, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
raregar67 - I don't know what you look like. I was guessing that you graduated in 1967, but you confirmed it the other day!
On a differant note, have you read the Fairtax? If you have, I would like your opinion on a consumption tax!
P.S.- I was born in 1965:-)
April 2, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
I saw the article last week that said 650,000 new South Carolina Medicaid (Welfare Health Care) cards were going out.Now we have this cigarette tax proposal so we can boost the number up to 827,000 SC Welfare Health Care bums instead of giving tax relief to income producing people. Remember, this is not for Medicare when everyone gets old, this is Medicaid to pay for the hospitalization of out of wedlock teens as they give birth to a new generation of welfare dependent trash. When are we going to realize that this has to end? Like I heard on Bill O'Reilly last night, "there is no shame in America anymore to being on welfare." We must make Medicaid Health Care Welfare and all the other welfare crap shameful. It is wrong, evil, and un-American and shame on you politicians for promoting this to increase the size of SC Medicaid. You politicians must bear the shame for destroying our once great country in the name of vote buying and socialism.
April 2, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glevans (anonymous) says...
Well, they raised the cigarette tax in Texas to about $2.00 per pack and it has not made any difference here. Except that low income family members that smoke are still buying cigarettes and feeding their kids less healthy foods. So don't look for anything to change if the tax in South Carolina is raised....except you are going to get chubbier children from all the fatty foods that they are going to be forced to eat by tobacco addicted parents.
April 2, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newto843 (anonymous) says...
I come from an $8.00 a pack area and I don't think it has caused that many to kick the habit. I think that those that see this as a way to get more to quit are mistaken. glevans may be more on point here.
April 2, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newto843 (anonymous) says...
Washington State, as a social smoker for the most part I was amazed how cheap they were down here really. Not for long though it seems, it really makes an easy target for budget shortfalls.
April 2, 2008 at 2:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hutch (anonymous) says...
It doesn't matter how high the tax is, people
addicted to tobacco will still buy them, they
must have a weak consitution, no will power.A smoker
should ask himself, who is in controll me or the cigarette?
Could Jesus help?
April 2, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
They need to slam extra tax on those that graze the trough at Ryan's Buffet on Sundays after church. That will bring HUGE bucks!
April 2, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Everyone is a member of some kind of minority. Do not be surprised when they come for you.
April 2, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
prahs1991 (anonymous) says...
I agree with most comments that I have read thus far. I am amazed at the short sightedness of our legislators... What happens to the revenue flow when people take the incentive to quit smoking because the price is finally too high to afford? I'll tell you what happens... Columbia finds something else to tax because unfortunately, the almighty medicaid program (or some other program) cannot take a cut in spending. Pretty sad state of affairs.
April 2, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
buff_o_rilla (anonymous) says...
South Carolina has a state income tax, a property tax on cars, sales tax, property taxes, gas tax, cigarette tax. Ive lived in a state with no income tax, no auto tax, slightly higher sales and gas tax, and lower property taxes and they are in so much better shape than South Carolina, I am sick and tired of seeing my money being sucked out of my wallet by the free spending politicians in this state. it sure feels like taxation without representation coz i sure dont seem to be getting my moneys worth out of what i put into the system!!!
April 2, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
Here's something that was sent to me years ago. Don't know who the author is:
While sitting at home and watching television one night the President of the United States came on and stated we ere in the midst of an energy crisis, and as good Americans we should make sacrifices by turning our thermostats back and curtailing the use of electrical appliances. Well, as a good American boy and feeling this was my duty; I turned my thermostat back and curtailed the use of electrical appliances. My reward for being a good American and my efforts at conservation was a letter from the electric company informing me since I was consuming less I would have to pay more, and please remit a check, reflecting this increase in rates. To this I replied:
Gentlemen:
In reply to your letter to send a check, I wish to inform you that the present condition of my bank account makes it almost impossible. My shattered financial ways are due to federal laws, county laws, city laws, corporation laws, liquor laws, mother-in-laws, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, and outlaws.
Through these laws I am compelled to pay a business tax, amusement tax, head tax, gas tax, sales tax, and excise tax. I am required to a business license, auto license, truck license, hunting license, fishing license, marriage license, and a dog license. I am also required to contribute to every society and organization which the genius of man is capable to bring to life, women relief, unemployment relief, gold digger's relief, to every hospital and charitable institution in the city, including the Red Cross, Blue Cross, White Cross, Black Cross, Purple Cross, and the Double Cross.
For my own protection I am required to carry life insurance, property insurance, burglary insurance, accident insurance, earthquake insurance, and fire insurance. My own business is so governed that it is hard for me to find out who owns it. I am inspected, rejected, dejected, examined, re-examined, informed, required, summoned, fined, commanded, and compelled until I supply money for every need of the human race. Simply because I refuse to donate to every something or other I am boycotted, talked about, lied about, held up, held down, and robbed, until I am almost ruined.
Well, I can tell you honestly, that except for the fact that a miracle happened I could not enclose the check. The wolf that comes to my door everyday just had pups in my kitchen. I sold them; here is your money:
April 2, 2008 at 5:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bflosue (anonymous) says...
LowcountryMoose - I agree!!!
April 2, 2008 at 5:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
bflosue - Taking the tax exemption away from churches would never work. No state could spend that much money. No matter how hard they tried!
April 2, 2008 at 6:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TacrolimusAddict (anonymous) says...
Help me, Help me, Nanny is getting ready to Take or Tax another one of my few remaining freedoms. How many freedoms has your government taken from you today?
April 2, 2008 at 8:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whome (anonymous) says...
Once again, the majority of the posts seem to blame the poor, but of course, the logic is flawed. Aside from the regular catastrophic or accidental injuries (which would have to be covered regardless of the increased cigarette taxes), the poor would not be the primary "beneficiaries" of the increased medicaid expenditures. This is not the case where the poor will use the cigarette taxes to buy a new car. Instead, what typically occurs is that the poor get signed up to be recipients of dubious or superfluous treatments or medications. Now follow the dollars. Who are the actual beneficiaries? Yes, it's a redistribution of wealth, but instead its from the middle class to the upper class, using the poor as a conduit.
April 2, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whome (anonymous) says...
archdude: if you do it regularly or in enough volume, i think that's actually illegal in most states
April 2, 2008 at 10:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whycantitbebetterhere (anonymous) says...
1 in 5 Americans smoke. 50% are too embarrassed to do it in front of anyone. The obesity rate is getting higher than that and they will come after the fat people next. It will take 4-7 years, but people will start approaching fat people in public and will start telling them to their face that they will die if they don't lose weight. (They do it to smokers all of the time now....) I called it when they first went after smokers and mark my words, they will be after the fat people next (taxes and fees) - they already are - pay attention to TV. After that, they will go after the drinkers, because they aren't healthy either, and they go around drunk alot of the time, and they could kill someone doing that.... Smokers, shoot, they are not even as bad as the fatties and the drinkers.. I am so tired of it! Just let people be free - aren't we supposed to be free here?
April 4, 2008 at 12:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Here
April 23, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Here
April 23, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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