In late January, Gov. Jim Doyle proposed a bill that would increase the tax on cigarettes from 77 cents to a ridiculous $2.02. This $1.25 increase is unprecedented in Wisconsin history. Republican Assembly leader Jeff Fitzgerald stated that Republicans would try to take the tax out of the budget completely, but also conceded that a compromise between the two sides is more likely.
The last time Wisconsin raised the tax on cigarettes in 2001, it was from 59 cents to 77 cents and, prior to that, in 1997 the tax was raised from 44 cents to 59 cents. The last two times that Wisconsin raised the tax on cigarettes it was in small amounts, around 15 to 18 cents. Why the huge increase, now?
Doyle stated that the new proposed tax on cigarettes would make it “very clear that to really drive smoking down, you have to have the shock to this. A dollar and a quarter, everybody would agree, will have a sharp effect on smoking rates.” I disagree because, although the percentage of smokers has gone down in Wisconsin since 1990, the decline has more to do with the public’s realization of the health detriments of smoking on the body rather than with the tax increase. Another possibility of the decline is the fact that America’s acceptance of smoking has gone down. In current society, smoking signifies a type of ignorance about its unhealthy consequences. Also, smoking has become less accepted because of the knowledge that second hand smoke can harm people even if that person has never smoked a cigarette in their life. Taxes aren’t a major reason not to smoke.
I don’t believe that this tax raise will really cause people to stop smoking because even if cigarettes cost more money, smoking is still physically addicting. When you’re addicted to something, whether it is tobacco, alcohol or gambling, it is not easy to stop that habit. Raising the tax by a $1.25 would only cause cigarette smokers to be robbed of $1.25 that they could have spent elsewhere. If a person smokes a pack of cigarettes a day for a year, it would cost that smoker an extra $456.25 a year – that is a significant amount of money, especially if one is on a fixed budget. This tax increase most likely will not stop people from smoking, but it will cost the smokers more money.
Furthermore, a tax hike may be unenforceable for the simple reason that stores will lose money from people not buying cigarettes and thus be unwilling to enforce the policy. Also, while this may be extreme, people who live close to another state’s border and really do not want to pay this tax can easily buy cigarettes in another state, causing Wisconsin to lose money.
America is built on free will and equality, but is it right for the governor to target a specific demographic for some extra change? While smoking may be extremely detrimental to one’s health, it is still part of the freedom of choice which makes America special. This tax raise will allow the state of Wisconsin to have an extra few million dollars, but, I ask you, do the ends justify the means?
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