It’s true that correlation does not imply causation, but some Kentucky data seems to indicate that the Bluegrass State’s decision in 2018 to increase its cigarette tax rate not only boosted the state’s revenue, but also lowered smoking rates.
It is also true that Kentucky's initial large tax revenue collection has steadily declined since the latest tax rate hike was implemented.
But Kentucky Health News (KHN) reports that the last revenue count from the state’s department of revenue, $270.5 million as of June 30, is still well above the $211.8 million that was collected before the tobacco excise tax was almost doubled six years ago.
As for smoking, 29 percent of Kentucky adults smoked in 2011. Following a series of tobacco tax hikes, culminating in the current $1.10 per pack rate that took effect in 2018, the state’s adult smoking rate fell to 17.4 percent in 2022, the last year for which a rate is available.
That steady decline in Kentucky smoking rates is enough for health advocates to support, and even call for another hike of the sin tax.
“When taxes increase, smoking rates decline. We should take advantage of that, for goodness sake, and increase the cigarette tax in Kentucky by at least $1 and then tax all other nicotine products at parity with the cigarette tax,” Shannon Baker, American Lung Association advocacy director for Kentucky and Tennessee, told Kentucky Health News.
As a former smoker, back in the day when the habit was a part of popular culture and tax rates were low, I giving this weekend’s By the Numbers honor to Kentucky’s $1.10 tobacco excise tax rate.
Cigarette tax rates nationwide: Kentucky’s current tax rate still is in the lowest third of U.S. cigarette taxes.
The least taxing state when it comes to a pack of cigs is Missouri, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control’s Office on Smoking and Health and National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The Show Me State’s rate is 17 cents per pack.
The most expensive place to buy smokes in the United States is New York, which collects $5.35 per pack.
The U.S. territory American Samoa tops the cigarette tax list at $6 per pack. The federal cigarette excise tax is $1.01 per pack.
The CDC color-coded map below gives you an idea of the tax range in which your state or territory falls as far as cigarette taxes. You get specifics for you locale at the CDC’s interactive map and accompanying table.
You also might find these items of interest:
- 7 states hiked fuel tax rates on July 1
- How Prohibition made us more reliant on the income tax
- More smuggled smokes because of high state taxes…or not
- Flavored cigar ban would lead to millions of lost tax dollars
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