Smokers Are Paying Enough
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The Dec. 29 editorial "Mr. Kaine's Budget" highlighted the burden that Virginia's governor bears in addressing Virginia's budget shortfall, but it grossly underestimated the revenue burden the state's smokers already bear.
This past fiscal year, Virginia received more than $170 million in cigarette excise tax revenue, $92 million from cigarette sales taxes and an additional $133 million in payments from the Master Settlement Agreement -- nearly equaling the $400 million in annual Medicaid expenses the editorial attributed to Virginia smokers. Cigarette smokers also paid $64 million in excise taxes to local governments.
About half of the price of a pack of cigarettes sold in the state goes to the government. Increasing this burden with a higher cigarette excise tax would be unfair to adult smokers and would harm Virginia's manufacturers, tobacco growers, wholesalers, retailers and the jobs they provide.
BRENDAN J. McCORMICK
Vice president, Corporate Communications
Altria Client Services
(on behalf of Philip Morris USA)
Richmond
