It has been almost three years since I posted a rant here about Texas charging sales tax on cigarettes AND on the excise taxes they had already applied - (Insult to Injury). I still think it’s an outrageous practice that ought to be illegal. but it hasn’t stopped me from smoking.
Cigarettes are still slightly cheaper in Louisiana than in Texas, but may not be much longer. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has proposed raising the cigarette tax from 36 cents to 83 cents, bringing it more in line with the higher tobacco taxes in other Southern states. The governor's team said this increase would help drive $100 million more dollars into higher education. It would pay for a tax credit given to students and families who would otherwise be expected to pay higher fees at public colleges and universities this coming year.
The cost of maintaining a smoking habit ranges greatly from state to state, and I guess that I should be grateful that I don’t live in California or New York – not that I would want to, anyway – but I was amazed to learn on our recent vacation that cigarettes were a full $20 a carton cheaper in Georgia. I was able to buy three cartons at a Savannah area Kroger’s for less than the cost of two cartons back home.
I hadn’t really thought of Georgia as a tobacco-producing state, but, depending on the criteria used (whether you go by acreage or tons produced) Georgia is either number six or number three, right after North Carolina and Kentucky.
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