Ways & Means chairman [image-nocss] Percy Watson (D) said the tax could generate up to $65 million for the current fiscal year and offset some of the decrease in state tax collections caused by the slumping economy.
But House Republicans blocked the effort of the Democratic leadership to bring the bill up for consideration before the full chamber, said the report. A two-thirds vote was needed to do that. Democrats lacked seven votes obtaining that supermajority. "We will bring it up tomorrow," Speaker Billy McCoy (D) told the membership.
Barbour has blocked efforts of the House leadership to increase the cigarette tax. But this year, the governor has proposed increasing the tax 24 cents per pack, also proposing to enact the tax soon enough to have an impact on the current fiscal year's budget.
Watson said he now agrees with the governor that the money should go into the general fund and not be dedicated to a specific purpose, such as health care. Some Democrats, though, might oppose the tax increase because they still believe at least a portion of the revenue should go to the general fund.
Republicans on the Ways & Means Committee fought unsuccessfully Thursday for a 50-cent-per-pack increase, the report said. They claimed that if the tax increases to $1, smokers would buy their cigarettes in states with lower taxes.
"There is very little we can do with prices to stop them from smoking," said State Representative Jerry Turner (R). There is something we can do to drive them out of state to buy their cigarettes."
State Rep. Tyrone Ellis (D) argued that neighboring states, also facing budget woes, would follow Mississippi's lead and increase their tax on cigarettes. Also, he said the percentage of people buying cigarettes in other states would be marginal.
An increase of 82 cents per pack would add about $200 million over a full year's time, according to the Mississippi Tax Commission.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, a poll shows that Kentuckians support an increase in the state cigarette tax. The survey of 500 registered Kentucky voters showed that 68% said they favor raising the cigarette tax to balance the state budget, said The Herald-Leader. And 69% of those voters said they favor raising the cigarette tax by $1, or 30 cents more than Governor Steve Beshear's current proposal to raise cigarette taxes by 70 cents. The poll showed that the tax increase had widespread support from Republican and Democratic voters alike.
The poll was released on Thursday by a coalition of health groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.
An increase in the cigarette and other tobacco taxes is the centerpiece of Beshear's plan to reduce a projected $456 million shortfall. Some estimates say that a cigarette tax would generate $277 million in its first calendar year, the report said. Beshear said the poll shows there is grassroots support for his measure. "I certainly think it adds to the momentum that I feel that is out there for some type of increase in the cigarette tax," he said.
Legislative leaders have said they are not sure if there is enough support in either the House or Senate to pass a sizable increase in the cigarette tax, said the report. Such a measure would have to pass both the House and Senate with a supermajority, or 60% of lawmakers.
Newly elected House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D) said a 25-cent increase in the cigarette tax had difficulties passing the Democratic-controlled House in the 2008 legislative session. Senate President David Williams (R) said the Senate wants to look at additional cost-cutting measures before it looks at increasing cigarette taxes.
Those against a cigarette tax increase have said that smaller convenience stores near the state border would suffer. Others have said they oppose any tax increase on philosophical grounds, said the report.
Tobacco companies have also argued that an increase in the cigarette tax would not generate the revenue projected. "It's important to remember this is not just a tax on smokers," Bill Phelps, spokesperson for Altria, a parent company of Philip Morris USA, told the newspaper. "More often than not, revenue from a cigarette tax does not meet expectations, creating yet another budget hole."
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