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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -
The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase by about $1 under a bill passed by the Utah Legislature. The proposal would hike the tobacco tax from 69.5 cents a pack to roughly $1.70. The average state tobacco tax is $1.34 per pack, according to the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative.
House Bill 196 passed by a vote of 19-8, sending it to Gov. Gary Herbert. The governor has said he's opposed to any increases but hasn't promised to veto a tobacco tax hike.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who proposed the measure, said he's "comfortable" the governor will be on board.
"He hasn't told me specifically he is," Ray said. "But you've been up here long enough you can just kind of see how things go."
Under a tight budget, some lawmakers say the $43 million the tax would generate in the coming fiscal year makes it an attractive source of funding.
The tobacco tax has been Ray's brainchild for the past three years.
Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said Friday the governor will be thinking about the tax increase in the context of the overall budget. She said he hasn't decided what action he'll take on the legislation.
Moving through the Legislature, the tax has survived a number of criticisms -- trying to engineer social behavior through tax policy, unfairly singling out smokers and driving business out of state.
Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA Inc., told The Associated Press in an e-mail that raising taxes is the wrong solution.
"Typically cigarette tax increases do not raise all of the revenue they are projected to raise, creating another budget gap," Phelps said. "Retailers will be hurt by this massive tax increase as some adults cross state lines or turn to the internet to buy cigarettes and avoid paying the tax."
The Legislature already passed Ray's bill banning the sale of nicotine paraphernalia like bongs and roach clips to minors. And it will consider another measure barring the sale of nicotine-flavored candies across the state.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
House Bill 196 passed by a vote of 19-8, sending it to Gov. Gary Herbert. The governor has said he's opposed to any increases but hasn't promised to veto a tobacco tax hike.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who proposed the measure, said he's "comfortable" the governor will be on board.
"He hasn't told me specifically he is," Ray said. "But you've been up here long enough you can just kind of see how things go."
Under a tight budget, some lawmakers say the $43 million the tax would generate in the coming fiscal year makes it an attractive source of funding.
The tobacco tax has been Ray's brainchild for the past three years.
Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said Friday the governor will be thinking about the tax increase in the context of the overall budget. She said he hasn't decided what action he'll take on the legislation.
Moving through the Legislature, the tax has survived a number of criticisms -- trying to engineer social behavior through tax policy, unfairly singling out smokers and driving business out of state.
Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA Inc., told The Associated Press in an e-mail that raising taxes is the wrong solution.
"Typically cigarette tax increases do not raise all of the revenue they are projected to raise, creating another budget gap," Phelps said. "Retailers will be hurt by this massive tax increase as some adults cross state lines or turn to the internet to buy cigarettes and avoid paying the tax."
The Legislature already passed Ray's bill banning the sale of nicotine paraphernalia like bongs and roach clips to minors. And it will consider another measure barring the sale of nicotine-flavored candies across the state.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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