This does not compute. Or does it?
This does not compute. Or does it?
Gov. Bobby Jindal, who in 2012 vetoed the renewal of a 4-cent tobacco tax, is considering getting Louisiana's tax on cigarettes in line with the rest of the nation, according to New Orleans news station WWL.
"We've always said that we would be fine with it, if it was done in a revenue neutral way," Jindal told the TV station. "We are willing to consider this and other changes as part of a larger effort to eliminate the income tax in a revenue neutral way."
Louisiana currently charges 36 cents per pack. The national average is $1.47 per pack. Probably not coincidentally, smokers tend to cluster near the lower end of the socioeconomic demographic, making Jindal's newfound embrace of a possible tax hike comport with his bold plan for eliminating personal and corporate income taxes and replacing the lost revenue with a 3-cent state sales tax hike, a move many argue will shift the revenue burden to middle- and low-income residents.
Read more about the cigarette tax here.