After the conservative turn of the Idaho Legislature during the November election, however, proposals to hike increases, regardless of which product is targeted, face a tough fight in the 2011 session, said the report.
American Heart Association [image-nocss] lobbyist Adrean Casper said raising Idaho's 57-cent-per-pack cigarette tax 10% would cut youth smoking by about 6.5%.
Others pushing the plan include state chapters of the American Cancer Society and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Casper said that details, including how much her group would like to see taxes hiked, are due out later this year.
Idaho's tax on cigarettes ranks 42nd nationally, said the report, tied with tobacco-producing South Carolina. The state raises about $45 million annually from its cigarette tax, and another $8.5 million from taxes on other tobacco products, according to the 2009 annual Idaho State Tax Commission report.
Washington state just boosted its tax by a $1 to just over $3, pushing cigarettes there to about $8 a pack. Utah lifted its tax to $1.70. More than a dozen states have lifted their taxes on cigarettes over two years, for health reasons and to lift revenue during the economic downturn.
With Idaho facing a projected 2012 budget deficit of up to $350 million, depending on how the economy fares next fiscal year, higher tobacco taxes could help close the gap, AP said.
But the election last week that left just 13 Democratic representatives in Idaho's state House and seven in the Senate installed an even-more conservative GOP majority in both chambers.
House Speaker Lawerence Denney (R), said, "I don't like to go after just specific products and people; however, I don't mind the idea of trying to reduce smoking. If it's a price thing, maybe that's something I could support sometime down the road. I don't like the idea of it being used as a revenue source for the general fund."
Lake, the tax panel's leader, said he's on board, with this caveat: Raising more revenue should only be a side benefit, with the primary focus on discouraging people, especially youngsters, from picking up the habit. "I want it to be done for public health reasons, not as a revenue enhancer," Lake said.
Wayne Hoffman, who heads up the free-market advocacy group Idaho Freedom Foundation, contended that boosting tobacco taxes will hurt retailers and could push consumers to buy cigarettes illegally. While some may curb their smoking or not start, he said others will simply buy their cigarettes elsewhere. "It kills businesses," Hoffman told AP, adding that his group would fight a tax hike proposal next session.
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