Bill to increase Georgia cigarette tax stalls in House committee
Bills to up Georgia's tax on cigarettes, vaping products may not pass
It appears bills introduced to increase Georgia's tax on cigarettes and vaping products may not move forward this session. Historically speaking, Georgia has not raised its tobacco tax since the early 2000s when Sonny Perdue was still governor.
ATLANTA - Two bills aimed at increasing state excise taxes on cigarettes and vaping products have likely died for this session at the state Capitol.
State Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, sponsored both bills and said he had two main goals to help offset some of the state's medical costs and to reduce the number of Georgians smoking.
"They cause cancer, lung disease, heart disease and on and on and on," said Rep. Stephens, who lost his own father to lung cancer.
Currently, Georgia has one of the lowest taxes on cigarettes in the country at just 37 cents per pack. Under Rep. Stephens' bill, that would go up to 57 cents per pack, the same rate as South Carolina. The average state cigarette tax is $1.91 per pack.
Rep. Stephens said raising the cigarette tax would generate about $90 million annually for the state, which would help offset some of the nearly $700 million Georgia pays in Medicaid costs for smoking-related illnesses.
"Most importantly, as the price goes up, consumption goes down, everybody's health is better," Rep. Stephens explained.
Rep. Stephens also filed legislation to increase the tax on vaping products from 5 cents per fluid milliliter to 15%.
Members of the House Tax Revision Subcommittee, however, were quick to extinguish the bills at a hearing Feb. 22.
"This is nothing more than a tax on the poor the way I see it. And I don't know when as a country or when as a government we want to penalize somebody for freedom that they got and I thought that's what this country was built on," said state Rep. Jason Ridley, R-Chatsworth.
In response, Rep. Stephens drafted a bill to remove all excise taxes from cigarettes in Georgia.
"You know, we're Republicans. We don't like to raise taxes, so some of the members that had questions in opposition to raising the tax, this takes it to zero," said Rep. Stephens. "It'll make us the lowest in the country. The only way to make us any lower is if we paid people to smoke."
So far, Rep. Stephens said he has not had any lawmakers offer to sponsor that legislation.