Tobacco Tax Hike Measure Faces Uphill Battle in Calif.
While states have approved more than 100 tobacco tax hikes in the past decade, California has failed to pass such a measure despite ongoing budget woes. Because California requires a supermajority to pass tax hikes in the Legislature, tobacco tax hikes often are put the ballot. As a result, the tobacco industry is able to spend significant money fighting such measures. Proposition 29, on the June ballot, would increase the state's tobacco sales tax by $1 per pack to fund research on smoking-related conditions such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.
- "Tough Sell for Tobacco Taxes in California" (Yamamura, Sacramento Bee, 5/14).