The fifty shades of tobacco taxes: this week’s Monday Map takes a look at how heavily state and local governments rely on revenue from tobacco taxes.
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(Click on the map to enlarge it. View previous maps here.)
New Hampshire takes the lead, gaining over $232 million in revenue from taxes collected on tobacco products, which equates to 4.37 percent of its total taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. revenue. The "Live Free or Die" state has a fairly competitive cigarette tax rate compared to its neighbors, so one reason that such a high percentage of its tax revenue comes from tobacco sales might stem from the well documented phenomena of cigarette smuggling and/or cross-border shopping.
Raking in more than $128 million in tobacco tax revenues (3.17 percent of its total tax revenue), Delaware is the only other state that breaches the 3 percent mark. On the other end of the spectrum, South Carolina comes in with the lowest percentage at 0.18 percent, and California comes next at 0.49 percent.
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