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Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011 | 12:02 a.m.
Sheila Leslie
Brian Sandoval
CARSON CITY — Health advocates want higher taxes on tobacco and contractors seek an increase on the gasoline tax.
The proposals are surfacing as the Nevada Legislature gets ready to open Feb. 7 and fly in the face of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s pledge to veto any tax increases.
The American Lung Association says Nevada gets low grades in its efforts to discourage tobacco use and help smokers quit.
The association says it’s time to raise the cigarette tax to pay for programs such as stopping young people from smoking.
Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said she has agreed to introduce a bill for the Tobacco Coalition to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 80 cents to $2. The tax on other tobacco products would be boosted from 30 percent of the wholesale price to 60 percent.
Leslie, as chairwoman of the Senate Revenue Committee, said she would provide a hearing for advocates to present their views.
Amy Beaulieu, head of the lung association’s Las Vegas office, said Nevada ranks near the bottom in comparison with other states on its programs to stop smoking and to treat those afflicted.
“Our state’s cigarette tax is extremely low, and the number of kids who smoke is too high,” she said.
The tobacco industry is targeting kids in a drive to replace dying customers, she said. “These tactics ranged from color-coding packaging in order to falsely claim less harmful cigarettes, to pitching smokeless tobacco in order to get more young people hooked,” she said.
A report card by the National Lung Association gives Nevada an “F” for state funding for tobacco control programs.
Beaulieu pointed out that Nevada’s share of a national tobacco settlement for tobacco cessation programs was “swept away” by the Legislature to solve budget shortfalls in state government.
The state received a “B” grade for where smoking is prohibited. The association noted that smoking is prohibited in bars that serve food but is still allowed in casinos.
The Building Jobs Coalition of Nevada, meanwhile, wants to index fuel taxes for inflation, which would increase price at the pumps about 9 cents a gallon over three years in Clark County, spokesman Jeremy Aguero said. The additional proceeds would be used for government construction projects.
Washoe County already has its gas tax indexed.
Aguero said the plan also calls for returning to local governments the property tax for capital improvements taken by the Nevada Legislature in 2009 to balance the state’s budget.
He said that would put an estimated 9 cents of the property tax back in the capital improvement funds of local governments.
The building coalition, which represents the construction industry, says that in the past year, the industry has shed 20 percent of its workforce or 14,700 jobs.
80 cents to $2.00? Yeah, good luck with that.
This is no more than one person or group trying to inflict their moral opinion on a society through the means of higher taxes. If Rep. Leslie does not like smoking that is her right, but for her to place her convictions on another part of society through higher taxes is wrong.
Also I wonder HOW MUCH of this proposed tax increase would actually go to prevent youths from smoking and how much would be siphoned off for other projects that have nothing to do with preventing people from smoking.
To GOVERNMENT - stop trying to dictate our lives - you are here to represent not oppress.
What a bunch of hogwash. They are just trying to make up for the losses in tax revenue because so many people have stopped smoking.
You can't balance the budget this way. Isn't it time for some real leaders to be elected?
Let's remember Sheila Leslie come election time and see that she becomes unemployed.
Perhaps commentors should be required to identify smoking status. It will soon be a year since I stopped smoking. The price of cigarettes was a significant factor. In Massachsetts they were $11.50 a pack. At a half pack a day it was costing me $2100 a year. I would have argued against a tax raise two years ago.
ALL tax revenue raised from increased gas taxes should be put into roads & highways - NOTHING ELSE!
I smell Steve Ross and his Union buddies behind this stuff. They want to take the monies, and give it to government construction projects. Do you really want to tax something to help a laborer make 30 bucks or so an hour? God knows what the plumbers and pipe fitters are making, too. This plan stinks of organized, overpaid labor.
Good Idea. Cigarattes should be taxed more. Gas tax would also be a big help.
We need to start being smart about revenue.
Raise gas and cigarette tax NOW!
I'm predicting a new black market for cigarettes in the next few years.
As far as taxes, the government can't even account for trillions of tax payers dollars, why should I give them anymore?
This is ridiculous. Nevada gasoline tax is already way high. And its not the governments responsibility to manage peoples lives and/or kids.
The roads here are a joke and get paved, then ripped up, paved then ripped up.. How many times have you all seen this? No money should be going to construction of roads because its obviously being wasted. Leave it a dirt road, people will drive slower and you save the money. And not like pollution matters because if anyones looked over the city the past few days its looks worse than LA.
What a joke of a state.
I remember all the states suing the tobacco companies for Billions of dollars. Nevada receives millions of Dollars each year from the tobacco that was to pay for non smoking programs and health care.
Guess what, they did not use the money for that. They used it for scholarships instead.
They keep looking to the tobacco companies for more money yet they never use it for what they state it will be used for then complain they don't have enough money.
Seems like a pretty good racket but at some point it will be game over and back fire on them.
The state tax is 80 cents per pack, plus the federal tax of $1.0066 per pack, plus Nevada's sales tax of 8.10%. http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxe... Cigarettes are way over taxed as it is.
Alcohol is next to be taxed to the point of being unaffordable to the masses. How many of these anti-smokers would be complaining when a can of beer has more than $2 in taxes per can.
"Beaulieu pointed out that Nevada's share of a national tobacco settlement for tobacco cessation programs was "swept away" by the Legislature to solve budget shortfalls in state government."
A lie, the funds were used to fund the millenium scholarship long before any shortfalls in state revenues.
You're all idiot sheep anyway. 6 months from now you'll be going to the ATM to get money to buy your cigs and taking out a second mortgage (if you haven't lost your home yet) to go to the grocery store to feed the family. When are you going to get it? The banking fat cats, Wall Street idiots, unions, and gov't are getting rich at your expense! Wise up dumb asses. Who is looking out for YOUR best interests? NOBODY!!!
YOu don't make the tax payers pay any more for indigents medical care. Many of those who receive health care services from the state did not do anything to improve their overall health. Just because you get state medical care doesn't mean that you don't do nothing to improve your health, someone is paying for that care. I pay for my health care and now the health avodcates expect me to pay for someone elses. If Nevada's economy is to turn around, you just cannot keep taxing others, many Nevadans have made adjustments to living on a shoestring budget and everytime taxes are increased you ask Nevada's to adjust their living again. When you live off or make a living from tax revenues, you don't hold the tax payers hostage.
I'm tired of the government asking for more money. You guys can't manage the money you've had. What happended to all the revenue recieved during the boom years? You wasted it, now you want more, but you keep getting great salaries, benefits, retirement etc. Look at how much money is wasted by the government! Why do u think giving them more money, is going make things better? I know its a little off this topic, but stop with these new taxes. Also, stop using kids as your excuse for asking fir more money. It's always the kids you guys use as a scape goat.
Good to see the tobacco tax being taken under consideration by a Senator. Keep pushing forward.
That is one SICK picture of Sandoval. He looks like a tyrannosaurus Rex with hemorrhoids.
Regardless of what the new tobacco tax will be used for, I honestly think that raising the tobacco tax will reduce the number of youth who start the habit drastically. I mean, think about it. Kids have an allowance. Sure, they can still bum a cig from someone, but actually making it a habit will be far too expensive for them. Go for it, Senator Leslie!
Do what you gotta do to get kids to not hurt themselves. If it's higher prices for everyone else, too bad. Lives are more important than money.
Far more evil than tobacco, are the tax-addicts, the social thieves who corrupt society -- criminalizing their behavior is the first step to civil rehabilitation.
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Vegaslee: this isn't a "racket", this is having tobacco, a huge health care cost for us all, help pay for some of what they pull from OUR pockets. I think increasing the tax just makes good fiscal sense, and it's only fair!
I am a smoker. There I said it. Does that make you feel better?
How many of you that are for the smoking tax are drinkers or gamblers of ANY amount??? MORE tax on alcohol & gaming I say. By the way I don't drink. I 100% agree that anything should be done to keep the youth from starting smoking but also drinking, driving too fast, eating too much or the wrong foods, drinking soft drinks.
After writing that I see that all of us need to lobby for more taxes on everything.!!!!!!!!! If you want to control some of the things that I do why not go for it all? TAX EVERYTHING so that we are not skinny or overweight or get a cold or food poisoning or cancer from the chemicals put in our food. Over weight = growth hormones in our meat.
Guess you all are right. Let the government into EVERY aspect of our life. If someone does not like it TAX it so that they stop. Sorry but just plain moronic thinking.
You that say the billions of $$ that came from the tobacco companies was whisked away for other things are 100% correct. Ask the state to pay for 12 weeks of chantix from that money and then tell me it is used to help keep people from starting and the smokers to quit if they truly want to.
Sat down to watch a bit of TV and the following is what I saw in commercials. 4 political, 3 for alcohol, 4 for lawyers, 2 for new cars, and 3 for prescription drugs that have more side effects than an atomic bomb. Oh and 3 for fast food.
You can find just as much bad for you in the above as smoking. They NEED to be banned from TV. Bad influence for not just the kids but all people. If they charge more for those commercials then maybe they will stop.
Makes the head spin. Guess I will go have a cig and bask in the knowledge that all of the above have MY BEST interests in mind. Thank you thank you. I must have fallen in to knowing that I can't take care of my self or make GOOD decisions for my self and get my Doc to give me some of those drugs and I won't remember what I see any more.
The logic that if it costs more kids or anyone would stop buying is flawed because all of the above have gone up in price drastically but people are still out there buying. Except for the lawyers as they only get a measly 33% of a lawsuit and the politicians because they already have our money.
PS - before you go drinking, gambling, driving or eating out you better make sure it is ok with someone else before you do. Maybe then you won't get hit by another driver that is either drunk, texting, talking on the phone, just not paying attention or just reading a book because they are bored with traffic.
Let's be careful out there.