NC Governor calls for an increase in the tobacco tax..

March 17, 2009 - North Carolina - the state that produces more tobacco than any other state - Governor Beverly Perdue proposes a $1-per pack increase in the cigarette tax (increase in the cigarette tax from 35 cents per pack to $1.35) and a 5 percent tax on alcoholic beverages. The two so-called sin taxes would help generate more than $400 million for the state budget that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2010. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight has said he supports an increase in both taxes.

State officials project a gap of more than $3 billion between planned spending for next year and revenue. Perdue does not have the power to write the state budget. The Legislature will review her plan as it approves its own budget by this summer and sends it to Perdue's desk for her signature.

North Carolina is also considering a ban on smoking in restaurants and workplaces. The federal government is raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents a pack to just over $1 on April 1, 2009.

Related news brief: North Carolina - may consider raising taxes on alcohol and cigarettes...

Reference: Perdue wants sin tax to balance budget, WTVD-TV, 3/17.2009.

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