The Year Tobacco Taxes Were Rejected At The Ballots — Except For California’s
In other states, the tobacco industry's war chest crushed supporters of the taxes, but in California advocates were able to get the message across to voters.
Stateline:
Tobacco Company Cash Crushes Tax Increases
Between 1980 and 2015, voters approved nearly 70 percent of the 32 tobacco tax hikes that appeared on statewide ballots, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan research group that has tracked them. But in November, voters in North Dakota, Missouri and Colorado defeated measures that would have increased taxes by 23 cents to $1.76 on a pack of cigarettes. ... Tobacco taxes generally are among the least controversial taxes to raise because they affect a small number of voters and the dangers of tobacco use are widely known. State legislatures, in particular, are fond of raising so-called “sin” taxes, as opposed to approving increases in broad-based taxes such as those on income or property. But November’s electorate may have been especially tax averse. (Povich, 1/9)