Cigarette Tax Will Mean $10 Packs

MYFOXNY.COM - Ten dollars (or more) for a pack of cigarettes? It might soon become a reality in many stores in New York City.

The cigarette tax in New York will jump $1.60 a pack under a deal struck between Governor David Paterson and state government leaders.

The proposal is part of an emergency budget bill that the Legislature approved Monday evening.

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In the city, which levies steep taxes of its own on tobacco products, a pack of cigarettes would come with a tax of $5.85, making it the nation's first city to break $5.

The Paterson administration hopes the proposal would generate $440 million in revenue this year, which would be a help close the state budget gap which is estimated to be over $9 billion. Despite the dire budget situation there is no guarantee that the emergency bill will pass after Republicans threatened to vote against a bill that includes tax increases.

By at least one estimate, half the cigarettes consumed in New York are purchased from Native Americans who don't collect and pay state taxes. A new proposal would attempt to limit the number of cigarettes purchased from tribes.

Some critics say that the plan sets up conflicts between the state and tribes.

Sen. George Maziarz, a Niagara County Republican, worried about violence when the state tries to collect cigarette taxes from Indian smoke shops, the AP reported.

With the AP