With 2023 now at the mid-year mark on the calendar, a number of state legislatures have adjourned for the year while some other state legislatures remain in session.
This year, some 18 state legislatures have introduced bills that would increase cigarette, tobacco product and/or nicotine vapor e-cigarette tax rates. Out of these 18 state legislatures, only three have passed legislation to raise taxes on cigarettes or vapor products. A summary of these state tax increase bills is listed below:
Alaska: Proposed tax of 25% of sales price on nicotine vapor products; carried over to the 2024 legislative session.
Georgia: Proposed tax increase of 20 cents per pack of cigarettes; the legislature adjourned without passing the bill.
Hawaii: Proposed tax of 70% of the wholesale price on nicotine vapor products; the legislature passed the bill and the governor signed the measure into law effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Idaho: Proposed tax of 40% of the wholesale price on nicotine vapor products; the legislature adjourned without passing the bill.
Indiana: Proposed tax increase of $1 per pack of cigarettes; the bill failed to pass the legislature.
Iowa: Proposed tax of 26% of the wholesale price on nicotine vapor products; the legislature adjourned without passing the bill.
Louisiana: Proposed tax increase to 15 cents per milliliter of nicotine liquid; the legislature passed the bill and the legislation has been sent to the governor.
Massachusetts: Proposed tax increase to $4.01 per pack of cigarettes and an increase to 80% for nicotine vapor products; the bill remains pending in the legislature.
Mississippi: Proposed tax increase of 50 cents per pack of cigarettes and an increase to 22.5% for other tobacco products; the bill did not pass the legislature.
Nebraska: Proposed tax increase of $1.50 per pack of cigarettes and a tax of 5 cents per milliliter of nicotine liquid; the bill did not pass the legislature.
New Mexico: Proposed tax increase of $2 per pack of cigarettes and a tax increase to 31% for other tobacco products; the bill did not pass the legislature.
New York: Proposed tax increase of $1 per pack of cigarettes was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor; a tax increase to 41% on nicotine liquid remains pending in the legislature.
Tennessee: Proposed tax increase of 53 cents per pack of cigarettes and a tax of 17% for other tobacco products; the bill did not pass the legislature.
Texas: Proposed tax of 1.5% of the sales price for nicotine liquid products; the bill did not pass the legislature during the regular session and the legislature is in a special session.
Virginia: Proposed tax increase of 3 cents per pack of cigarettes; the bill did not pass the legislature.
West Virginia: Proposed tax increase to $2.70 per pack of cigarettes and a tax to 51% on other tobacco products; the bill did not pass the legislature.
Wisconsin: Proposed tax increase to 71% for nicotine vapor products; the bill remains pending in the legislature.
Wyoming: Proposed tax increase of 60 cents per pack of cigarettes; the bill did not pass the legislature.
Thomas A. Briant is the executive director of NATO, a tobacco retailing association based in Lakeville, Minnesota. Reach him at info@natocentral.org.
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