Councilman proposes taxing cigars, smokeless tobacco

Wednesday, April 14 2010

By Jeff Shields, Inquirer Staff Writer

City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke wants the city to venture where the state has not yet dared to go: the taxing of chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and cigars.

Clarke said he would introduce on Thursday a bill setting a 3.6-cent tax on each cigar and a 36 cents-per-ounce tax on loose forms of tobacco. That would mean 43 cents on a typical 1.2-ounce can of chewing tobacco. Snuff is also included, as are rolling papers, at a yet-to-be-determined rate.

Clarke's legislative counsel, William Carter, estimated it would raise between $5 million and $6 million for a city looking for any and all revenues to fill a budget gap of up to $150 million in fiscal 2011...story continues here