April 1, 2009 The Effect of the Federal Cigarette Tax Increase on State Revenue Patrick Fleenor Patrick Fleenor Print this page Subscribe Support our work Download Fiscal Fact No. 166 Fiscal Fact No. 166 Today the federal cigarette tax will rise from 39 cents to $1.01 per pack. The proceeds will help fund expansion of the federal State Children’s Health Insurance program. This program provides federal matching funds to states to assist them in providing health insurance to families and children. The SCHIP program is targeted at families with modest incomes above Medicaid eligibility limits. Of course what the federal government gives with one hand it takes with the other. A $6.3 billion increase in the federal cigarette excise will reduce the disposable incomes of residents in the states. Table 1 shows that this reduction ranges from $581 million in California to $10.8 million in the District of Columbia. Table 1 Increased Federal Tobacco Excise Payments by State, Resulting from the 62-cent Federal Cigarette Tax Hike Calendar Year 2010 Total $ 6,340,750,000 Alabama $ 109,978,857 Alaska $ 15,600,214 Arizona $ 134,852,031 Arkansas $ 67,864,689 California $ 581,127,778 Colorado $ 104,058,146 Connecticut $ 58,536,581 Delaware $ 17,692,891 Florida $ 379,981,723 Georgia $ 201,691,767 Hawaii $ 21,828,374 Idaho $ 30,543,511 Illinois $ 279,479,473 Indiana $ 163,995,056 Iowa $ 62,604,547 Kansas $ 53,229,601 Kentucky $ 128,026,882 Louisiana $ 107,844,936 Maine $ 28,467,786 Maryland $ 104,345,971 Massachusetts $ 116,613,891 Michigan $ 231,677,653 Minnesota $ 94,399,505 Mississippi $ 76,066,634 Missouri $ 154,309,350 Montana $ 19,280,691 Nebraska $ 37,285,410 Nevada $ 63,143,599 New Hampshire $ 28,470,956 New Jersey $ 163,676,384 New Mexico $ 42,409,119 New York $ 395,510,605 North Carolina $ 224,489,092 North Dakota $ 13,404,840 Ohio $ 281,256,032 Oklahoma $ 98,940,497 Oregon $ 67,665,226 Pennsylvania $ 271,838,059 Rhode Island $ 20,142,604 South Carolina $ 103,204,568 South Dakota $ 16,431,769 Tennessee $ 160,546,327 Texas $ 501,970,744 Utah $ 32,463,700 Vermont $ 11,923,948 Virginia $ 155,510,031 Washington $ 116,875,664 West Virginia $ 49,692,858 Wisconsin $ 117,357,576 Wyoming $ 11,645,403 District of Columbia $ 10,796,448 In addition to affecting residents’ pocketbooks, a hike in the federal tax would also depress state and local government revenues. To varying degrees state and local governments rely on the sale of cigarettes for three sources of revenue.1 The first is excise tax revenue, or product-specific taxes levied on cigarettes. Under current law, cigarette excise taxes range from 7 cents per pack in South Carolina to $2.75 in New York. States also receive revenue from the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) they signed with the four major tobacco companies in 1998. The amount of money each state receives varies and is a function of the number of packs sold in the state each year. In addition, almost all states levy a general sales tax on cigarettes. Congressional authorities estimate that the sale of tax-paid cigarettes will drop by about 10 percent—or 1.7 billion packs—in the aftermath of the federal tax hike. Table 2 shows that Tax Foundation analysts estimates that this will reduce state and local revenues by $2.3 billion in fiscal 2010, the first year the tax is fully in effect. The bulk of these losses will result from $1.6 billion in lost excise tax revenue. MSA payments are also expected to fall by $805.8 million. On the positive side of the ledger, because the federal tax will drive up the cost of cigarettes, sales tax receipts are expected to rise by $105.8 million. Table 2 Revenue Lost by State and Local Governments, Resulting from 62-cent Federal Cigarette Tax Hike State Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010) Dollar Amounts in Thousands State Taxed Sales (thousands of packs) Total Revenue Excise Revenue MSA* Sales Tax Revenue Total -1,655,638 -$ 2,296,311 -$ 1,596,304 -$ 805,789 $ 105,783 Alabama -39,680 -$ 30,678 -$ 19,461 -$ 13,669 $ 2,452 Alaska -2,250 -$ 7,638 -$ 6,034 -$ 1,605 $ 0 Arizona -17,266 -$ 41,710 -$ 34,531 -$ 8,530 $ 1,351 Arkansas -19,067 -$ 26,293 -$ 21,927 -$ 5,754 $ 1,387 California -110,474 -$ 183,570 -$ 96,112 -$ 96,810 $ 9,353 Colorado -23,309 -$ 28,664 -$ 19,580 -$ 9,879 $ 794 Connecticut -13,400 -$ 36,808 -$ 26,799 -$ 11,186 $ 1,177 Delaware -11,362 -$ 15,531 -$ 13,066 -$ 2,465 $ 0 Florida -136,680 -$ 92,651 -$ 46,334 -$ 54,787 $ 8,470 Georgia -66,117 -$ 42,400 -$ 24,463 -$ 21,634 $ 3,698 Hawaii -3,654 -$ 10,592 -$ 7,856 -$ 2,986 $ 250 Idaho -9,027 -$ 7,795 -$ 5,146 -$ 3,229 $ 580 Illinois -50,890 -$ 90,731 -$ 66,547 -$ 28,636 $ 4,452 Indiana -53,342 -$ 63,425 -$ 53,075 -$ 14,611 $ 4,260 Iowa -16,366 -$ 25,700 -$ 22,258 -$ 4,661 $ 1,219 Kansas -14,538 -$ 17,102 -$ 11,485 -$ 6,501 $ 884 Kentucky -61,742 -$ 45,951 -$ 37,045 -$ 12,834 $ 3,928 Louisiana -42,665 -$ 34,184 -$ 15,360 -$ 20,564 $ 1,739 Maine -5,657 -$ 14,765 -$ 11,314 -$ 3,879 $ 428 Maryland -20,713 -$ 53,885 -$ 41,427 -$ 14,058 $ 1,599 Massachusetts -17,243 -$ 62,200 -$ 43,281 -$ 20,358 $ 1,439 Michigan -43,066 -$ 107,270 -$ 86,132 -$ 24,897 $ 3,759 Minnesota -23,072 -$ 48,813 -$ 34,447 -$ 16,336 $ 1,969 Mississippi -29,628 -$ 20,732 -$ 5,333 -$ 17,518 $ 2,118 Missouri -70,488 -$ 32,539 -$ 14,249 -$ 21,739 $ 3,449 Montana -4,315 -$ 9,991 -$ 7,336 -$ 2,655 $ 0 Nebraska -12,596 -$ 13,081 -$ 8,061 -$ 5,742 $ 722 Nevada -16,912 -$ 17,526 -$ 13,529 -$ 5,212 $ 1,215 New Hampshire -13,772 -$ 22,403 -$ 18,317 -$ 4,086 $ 0 New Jersey -21,428 -$ 72,492 -$ 55,177 -$ 19,790 $ 2,475 New Mexico -7,125 -$ 11,232 -$ 6,484 -$ 5,144 $ 395 New York -34,763 -$ 163,418 -$ 108,729 -$ 57,189 $ 2,500 North Carolina -80,618 -$ 43,998 -$ 28,216 -$ 19,274 $ 3,493 North Dakota -5,490 -$ 5,922 -$ 2,416 -$ 3,780 $ 273 Ohio -72,152 -$ 119,460 -$ 92,515 -$ 31,754 $ 4,808 Oklahoma -32,865 -$ 42,076 -$ 33,851 -$ 8,225 $ 0 Oregon -18,971 -$ 31,465 -$ 22,386 -$ 9,079 $ 0 Pennsylvania -75,206 -$ 140,031 -$ 101,528 -$ 43,921 $ 5,418 Rhode Island -3,495 -$ 11,851 -$ 8,597 -$ 3,638 $ 384 South Carolina -48,964 -$ 12,660 -$ 3,428 -$ 11,944 $ 2,712 South Dakota -3,969 -$ 8,005 -$ 6,073 -$ 2,120 $ 188 Tennessee -47,788 -$ 42,706 -$ 29,631 -$ 16,561 $ 3,486 Texas -97,905 -$ 182,283 -$ 138,046 -$ 51,856 $ 7,619 Utah -8,914 -$ 9,681 -$ 6,195 -$ 3,935 $ 449 Vermont -2,569 -$ 7,000 -$ 5,112 -$ 2,110 $ 221 Virginia -64,835 -$ 40,369 -$ 26,837 -$ 16,812 $ 3,280 Washington -16,340 -$ 43,643 -$ 33,088 -$ 12,148 $ 1,593 West Virginia -23,637 -$ 20,478 -$ 13,000 -$ 8,898 $ 1,420 Wisconsin -33,121 -$ 70,919 -$ 58,623 -$ 14,348 $ 2,052 Wyoming -4,654 -$ 5,541 -$ 2,792 -$ 2,942 $ 193 District of Columbia -1,539 -$ 6,450 -$ 3,077 -$ 3,503 $ 131 *Master Settlement Agreement signed in 1998 between the governments of 46 states and the four largest tobacco firms. Losses are expected to vary widely by state. California, Texas and New York are expected to each lose more than $150 million in revenue next fiscal year. Meanwhile, losses in Wyoming, North Dakota and the District of Columbia are expected to be less than $6.5 million. Notes 1. This list is not exhaustive. A hike in the federal cigarette tax will also reduce state income, property and other tax receipts. Topics Center for Federal Tax Policy Center for State Tax Policy Cigarette and Tobacco Taxes Excise Taxes Individual and Consumption Taxes Research
