Mark Parkinson on Tax Reform

Raise cigarette and sales tax to meet $400M budget gap

Here is my plan to come up with the $400 million--we need to raise two taxes. We must take the cigarette and tobacco tax from 79 cents a pack and raise it to the national average of $1.34. Not only will this allow us to raise revenue, it has the added benefit of reducing teen smoking. We must also raise our sales tax by one cent for a temporary period of 36 months. A temporary increase of just one cent allows us to fund our programs at the minimum acceptable levels while we work our way out of this recession. I am then proposing that after the third year the tax retreat, leaving just two tenths of a cent in place that would be available to craft a moderate but necessary highway program.