Smokers in the Hoosier State may be paying more for cigarettes in the near future.
For the first time in more than a decade, Indiana Lawmakers are proposing a tax increase on cigarettes and imposing a new tax on vaping liquids. The proposal would double the state tax on cigarettes by adding a full dollar per pack to the current 99.5 cent tax.
The bill would also add a 39% tax on the liquids used in vaping and e-cigarettes which lawmakers say is roughly equivalent to the cigarette tax.
The bill, if passed into law would become effective on July 1st.
2 comments
Sin taxes are abhorrent, and this is a great example of why.
The justification for the cigarette tax was to curb bad behavior. Vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking depending on the study, hardly a heath risk. And yet they are hitting it with a 40% tax. Why? Because politicians are addicted to revenue, and smokers quitting is shrinking their piggy bank. We saw this with gasoline taxes leading to surcharges on electric vehicles, and now we are seeing it again. It is quite literally letting the Camel’s nose in the tent (pardon the pun).
I always thought that this is a form of price gouging. Shouldn’t this be illegal for feds & government to do?