Tagged: cigarette tax

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.

Former University of Missouri interim president dies

The interim president of the University of Missouri system in 2007 and 2008 died Monday. Gordon Lamb was 77.  

Lamb also served as the president of Northeast Illinois University in Chicago and the interim chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.

Current interim president Steve Owens released a statement Thursday night, announcing Lamb's death.

Reporting by KCUR's Elana Gordon was used in this story.

Two petitions that would affect taxes on tobacco products in Missouri are going through the approval process for circulation.

One would give cities and counties the ability to set and control tobacco taxes. The state has preempted local tobacco taxes since 1993.

Petitions supporters say local communities should have the right to determine how tobacco tax dollars are used. But Misty Snodgrass with the American Cancer Society says the proposal is problematic.