Tagged: cigarette tax

Gov. Jay Nixon says he does not intend to get involved in a campaign to raise Missouri's lowest-in-nation cigarette tax.

Supporters are expected to turn in petition signatures this week for a November ballot initiative asking voters to raise the Missouri's tax on a pack of cigarettes to 90 cents from the current 17 cents.

Nixon said Monday his focus is "to hold the line on taxes" but Missouri voters are entitled to voice their own opinions at the ballot box.

The state auditor estimates the initiative would generate between $283 million and $423 million annually for Missouri's budget.

The state with the lowest tax on cigarettes? No, not tobacco country -- Virginia or North Carolina. It's Missouri, with a tax of just 17 cents a pack. The national average is a buck and a half. But health advocates are pushing a ballot initiative to increase the levy in Missouri.

Our own Maria Altman reports for Marketplace Morning Report today.

Yet another bill has been filed in the General Assembly this year that would raise Missouri’s cigarette tax, currently the lowest in the nation.

This one would raise it to 75 percent of the current national average – in other words, from 17 cents per pack to $1.09-1/2 cents per pack.  Missouri’s tax per pack would also rise or fall as the national average changes, and it would require a referendum by Missouri voters to take effect.  The bill was filed by State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford (D, St. Louis), who spoke in favor of raising the cigarette tax during budget debates on Thursday.