Raising Tobacco Taxes Could Net $585 Million
Tuesday, February 17th, 2015
A financial analysis on raising Georgia’s cigarette tax shows a much higher revenue return than previously estimated.
Experts had projected that a proposed $1.25 increase in the state tax on a pack of cigarettes would raise $350 million a year.
But a fiscal note, requested by state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), estimates that the increase in tax revenue would be $561 million to $585 million in fiscal 2016. The total includes an increase in the tax on smokeless and loose tobacco as well.
