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House Democrat: Raise Taxes On Smokers, Lower Driver Fees
December 27, 2011
A South Florida lawmaker wants to increase cigarette taxes by $1 a pack and is offering a political sweetener to try to get it passed: Use the money to roll back fees on motorists under a bill filed by Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek.
Lawmakers in 2009 also approved a $1-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes — or a “surcharge” as supporters called it — as they grappled with budget problems.
Waldman said the state has seen decreases in cigarette smoking, and he hopes the additional taxes will further reduce tobacco use by young people.
“This is a health care bill, plain and simple, to stop the youth from smoking,” he said Monday.
With the Republican-dominated Legislature opposed to tax hikes, Waldman said he would offset the higher cigarette surcharges by rolling back a series of unpopular fee increases that lawmakers also approved in 2009. Those fee increases caused motorists to pay more for such things as vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses.
It is too early to know whether Waldman can get lawmakers to go along with his proposal, which he said would bring in roughly $900 million a year in additional cigarette taxes. No Senate version has been filed.
Florida currently collects $1.34 in taxes on a standard pack of cigarettes, with $1 of that coming from the 2009 surcharge. Money from that surcharge goes into a trust fund to help pay for health-care services.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
18 Responses to “House Democrat: Raise Taxes On Smokers, Lower Driver Fees”
REGARDING:
“Well now, since my fellow smokers and I are subsidizing the health care system to the tune of almost 2 billion dollars a year you need to stop looking down your collective noses at us and start thanking us instead.:
THANK YOU.
I also appreciate how you take yourself off the social security system and health care system quicker than nonsmokers. It’s also good of you to invigorate the clothing, furniture and building industries as they replace things you’ve burned.
David seeing the dark clouds’ silver lining
while missing father whose life was shortened
and impaired by his smoking
TAX MILK, TAX BREAD AND TAX SOFT DRINKS. THAT GETS EVERY SINGLE PERSON ALIVE IN THE GAME. NO USE JUST TAXING A SMALL PERCENTAGE
I will keep buying my smokes in alabama. no big deal
Democrats solution to everything is : TAXES……they love taxes
tax beer after all when was the last you heard of a smoker wiping out a family in a headon if they want to make it too expensive to smoke do the same for alchol
Better yet, Why don’t Florida politicians create a bill to tax anyone for groceries that are over weigh and have high colesteral which causes a rise in health care costs.
Money & Greed! Where will it stop!! Its has nothing to do with caring about people’s health. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul! Hope to see everyone out voting!!
Well now, since my fellow smokers and I are subsidizing the health care system to the tune of almost 2 billion dollars a year you need to stop looking down your collective noses at us and start thanking us instead.
I just called Jim’s Office and of course got a voice mail saying they
are closed for the Holidays, I told them that was wonderful that they
could afford to be off for Christmas as we could not. My husband had
to WORK CHRISTMAS because GOVERNMENT could not stop spending.
I told him WE have had enough of TAXES, NEW OR OLD.
I told told him WE want THEM to TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS for A WHILE.
ok kids it’s your turn!!!!!
{Quote j said} – Why just cigarretes, why not alcohol too! Alcohol kills, destoys families and lives just as much if not more than cigaretes. No pressure is ever put on alcohol. Too much money given from these companies that’s why.
I agree with this completely. Why just cigarettes???
For J: I’m with those who want to raise taxes on alcohol. In 2009 when the tax went up on tobacco there was a part of the bill that would have raised the tax on beer. There was a ton of money used by lobbyist paid for by the beer companies and all sorts of political favors chit’s were call in and the tax raise on beer went away. You’ll see more people drinking beer than smoking— but the money/ power brokers/and those wanting to be able to feed at the public trough by being reelected let the tax on beer die. Don’t we have a wonderful system?
Lonnie: But how can they tax things they deem perfectly legal to do and use? How can they legally continue to harass and tax people doing something the government itself makes MILLIONS of dollars on, yet the people actually using the “bad” thing are being punished for wanting to do it?
I’m not going after you, I’m just saying. HOW can our government, a DEMOCRACY, tax something THEY say is “BAD” yet THEY are the ones making the MILLIONS off of it? HOW can they force the tobacco companies to pay up to sick people, apologize, put warnings on their product, etc, yet the government is probably making MORE money than the tobacco companies.
Why just cigarretes, why not alcohol too! Alcohol kills, destoys families and lives just as much if not more than cigaretes. No pressure is ever put on alcohol. Too much money given from these companies that’s why.
An opinion. Now this is just my opinion on what I’ve observred in recent years. So dont kill the messenger! We live in a free country, a democracy, right? Ok. With that said, I believe its illegal to outright ban the things that some small portion of our society enjoys. So in order for Government to impose its will on the people, just make a huge tax on those things so that people will no longer be able to afford it.
How is it that the government says it’s completely legal to buy and smoke cigarettes, and the government makes money off of said sale of cigarettes, yet they want to tax the hell out of the people who buy and smoke LEGAL cigarettes???
This MUST be illegal. I myself do not smoke. Never have. Never want to. But I believe if it’s LEGAL to buy, sell and smoke them, the government should not be able to make any extra money off of them. If they’re SO BAD, why doesn’t the government BAN them??? Because they make millions off cigarettes. Now they want to make millions more.
they are still cheap in alabama
So if he thinks raising the tax on cigarettes will stop people from smoking, how does he figure it will bring in more money? That doesn’t make sense. If people don’t smoke, they don’t buy cigarettes (or at least not in Florida…they can always go to another state and buy them) so that means less money, not more?
So, if $1 a pack will bring an additional $900 million per year, where is the 1.8 billion+ collected thus far from the 2009 increase being spent? Does this fund pay for all kinds of sickness or just tobacco related sickness? Does it only cover smokers or are smokers subsidizing everybody else? How are the medical payments made and to whom? How does one go about filing a claim for a medical payment from this fund? Don’t bother answering as those are rhetorical questions. A tax is a tax is a tax. I wonder how long it will take before we see a bacon tax or a pepsi tax or a salty snack tax or a “you didn’t exercise” tax. It only applies to the “bad people” so what do we care, take everything they’ve got. Right? Why don’t we just hang the smokers? Buckle up you people on your high horse. Today it’s me but you’re next.
This may be the first Democrat to come forward who hasn’t been abducted by aliens at some time in his past. Finally something from the Left that makes sense!