During a break in today’s legislative session I followed Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, a chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee outside of the capitol. She wanted a cigarette and I wanted the latest details on the Democrats’ tax proposals.
Most of our conversation focused on income taxes, but I also asked Daily if leadership is contemplating sales tax hikes.
A bit earlier Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, had told reporters lawmakers were once again considering upping the cigarette tax, this time by either 50-cents or 75-cents. I figured Daily might at least confirm that and also suggest some other possibilities.
Daily initially said no sales tax increases were planned and I pointed to the smoldering item in her hand.
“Oh, yeah,” Daily said.
And that, in a nutshell, seems to sum up lawmakers’ views of taxing cigarettes. It comes so naturally that it’s an afterthought in a conversation about raising taxes.
Why don’t we just legalize marijuana and tax that. By doing so we could cover the state and federal deficit; oh wait. We live in CT, a bleak dismal police state that would rather make money off offenders in court, and then pay more to have them incarcerated for a non violent crime. F*&%! CT
You are right on. The supposed “not tax increase” budget from 2 years ago actually raised the cigarette tax.
I did some calculations. If they do the 75 cent increase, someone who smokes a pack a day will pay around $1,500 a year in state and federal excise and sales taxes (depending on the cost of the brand), with over $1,100 of that going to the state. A couple filing jointly has to have over $52,000 in CT AGI to pay that much. If they both smoke a pack a day, just go ahead and triple their bill to the state.
Ah, but smokers don’t vote (and if they do, not as a bloc)…don’t “create jobs”…aren’t wealthy enough to move to Florida…don’t have the CBIA or an ex-speaker defending them…they just all engage in that “nasty habit.”