Sin Taxes
Indian Tribes, States Eye Online Gambling
A computer screen displays the results of a losing game of slots in Atlantic City. New Jersey is one of only three states that allow online gambling, but some Indian tribes are talking to state officials about complementing their brick-and-mortar casinos with Internet betting. (AP) American Indian tribes have 460 gaming facilities in 28 states, […]
Infographic: Annual State Lottery Sales
New York led all states in lottery sales in fiscal year 2011 with sales of $6.76 billion, a slight decrease from its fiscal year 2010 sales of $6.78 billion, according to data compiled by Gambling Compliance. Massachusetts came in at number two with $4.42 billion in sales, the same amount it pulled in the previous […]
Tasting for Dollars: States Find New Ways to Tap Alcohol for Revenue
iStockphoto Last month, the owner of the Wine Chap store in Nashville did something that would have been illegal just a few weeks before. He held two wine tastings in the store, letting customers sample high-end summer whites and sip expensive Bordeaux for free. Richard Payne figures he sold 10 cases of wine because of […]
Maryland Hikes Sales Tax on Alcohol
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on Thursday (May 19) signed legislation raising the state sales tax on alcohol from 6 percent to 9 percent, effective July 1. The increase will bring in $85 million a year in new revenue and will help pay for public education, school construction and disability aid. The tax hike is the […]
Connecticut Governor, Lawmakers Agree to Package of Tax Hikes
More insistently than any other governor this year, Connecticut’s Dannel Malloy has pushed tax increases as the tough medicine necessary to help close a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. On Wednesday (April 20), Malloy took a big step forward in his controversial plan, announcing a deal with legislative leaders that would help erase the state’s deficit […]
Two Governors See Need for Major Tax Increases
As Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy prepares to introduce his first state budget today (February 16), The Hartford Courant , the state’s largest newspaper, bluntly describes the plan’s effects. “If you earn a middle-class salary, drive a car, get a haircut, buy clothing, sleep in a hotel, smoke cigarettes or drink beer, your taxes would go […]
Decline in Smoking Means Decline in State Revenue
iStockphoto.com/Sara Robinson Americans are smoking less and less. That’s good news for public health, but it creates an ironically nasty side effect for many state budgets. They have grown dependent on an annual stream of money from tobacco companies, and that money is itself dependent on the number of people who consume cigarettes. The payments […]
New York Hikes Cigarette Taxes
Add New York to the list of states raising the price of cigarettes to fill budget gaps. The legislature approved a party-line measure Monday night that would raise the tax by another $1.60, pushing the excise tax on a pack of cigarettes to $4.35, the Albany Times Union reports. Starting July 1, the average pack […]
Smokers Beware
Sixteen states raised their cigarette taxes last year to generate more revenue, and the trend shows few signs of slowing down in 2010. Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina and Utah are among the states that could force smokers to pay more as they try to balance their budgets. Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist will lead a rally […]
Recession Ushers in More Tobacco Taxes
Clipping away at a $590 million deficit, Rhode Island this April raised its taxes on cigarettes by $1 to $3.46 a pack – the highest rate in the country. With the backing of its governor, a former tobacco lobbyist, Mississippi in May imposed its first tax hike on smokers in more than two decades – […]
Wine Ruling Uncorks State Response
Veteran Washington state vintner Mike Januik received a glut of requests for his Columbia Valley wines in the days following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Internet sales of wine. But he isn’t popping the cork yet – the decision only threw the issue of direct shipping back to state legislatures. “Until every state decides […]
States Hunt Down Online Cigarette Buyers
Michigan resident Julia Sidebottom inhaled sharply when she opened her mailbox earlier this year and was greeted with an unexpected and unwelcome bill from the state for $4,753.89 in unpaid cigarette and sales taxes. For several years, Sidebottom’s boyfriend purchased cigarettes online at www.esmokes.com , one of 13 online cigarette retailers from which Michigan recently […]