Cigarette Taxes
The nation's first federal cigarette tax was enacted in 1864 as a Civil War revenue measure. In 2005 the federal cigarette tax stood at 37 cents per pack. The nation's first state-level cigarette excise tax was enacted in Iowa in 1921. By 1969 all 50 U.S. states had followed suit. In 2005 state-level cigarette taxes ranged from 7 cents per pack in South Carolina to $2.46 per pack in Rhode Island. The wide variety of state cigarette excise taxes provides opportunities for consumers to shop for bargains across borders—and for smugglers to make substantial profits.
Additional questions about cigarette taxes? Contact William Ahern at (202) 464-5101.
Related Blog Entries
- How to Increase Teacher Pay - Raise Cigarette Taxes Of Course, by Gerald Prante, May 13, 2008
- Tax Foundation Cigarette Tax Op-Ed in Wall Street Journal, by TF Staff, May 7, 2008
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- New York's Gutless Politicians: Let's Raise Cigarette Tax Just to Raise Revenue, by Gerald Prante, March 31, 2008
- Addicted to Cigarette Taxes, by Patrick Fleenor, March 6, 2008
- More Evidence of Cigarette Tax Hikes’ Negative Consequences, by Alicia Hansen, February 7, 2008
- New Study Shows Smokers and Obese Actually Save Government on Health Care Costs, by Gerald Prante, February 5, 2008
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- Attention Maryland Smokers: Buy Your Cigarettes Before Midnight, by Gerald Prante and Joseph Henchman, December 31, 2007
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- Do Opponents of S-CHIP Expansion Hate Children?, by Alicia Hansen, December 18, 2007
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- New Op-Ed on California's Prop. 86 Cigarette Tax Increase, by Andrew Chamberlain, October 12, 2006
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- New Op-Ed: Crime, Smuggling and Cigarette Taxes, by Andrew Chamberlain, May 15, 2006
- Oregon Lawmakers Seek Cigarette Tax Increase, by Gerald Prante, November 23, 2005
- UPS Decision Unlikely to Stop Cigarette Smuggling, by Curtis S. Dubay, October 25, 2005
- North Carolina’s Lowest-in-the-Nation Cigarette Tax up in Smoke, by Curtis S. Dubay, September 7, 2005
- Tobacco Tax Revenue Projections Go Up in Smoke, by Gerald Prante, August 23, 2005
- North Carolina to Raise Cigarette Tax, by Alicia Hansen, August 8, 2005
- Do Cigarette Taxes Cause Obesity?, by Andrew Chamberlain, August 3, 2005
- Black Markets vs. Cigarette Taxes, by Curtis S. Dubay, June 6, 2005
- Diminishing Returns to Smoke Taxes, by Andrew Chamberlain, June 1, 2005
- Incredible Shrinking Smoke Taxes, by Andrew Chamberlain, May 6, 2005
