The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Revenue reports for Georgia have been in a steady decline for more than a year, with no end in sight. Lawmakers are trying to balance the state budget, while proposing some indigestible ideas along the way, including the elimination of the 4-H program and hiking tuition for college students.
A group rallied at the capitol this week to propose a $1 hike per-pack in the cigarette tax, saying Georgia’s 37-cent per pack tax is one of the nation’s lowest. Proponents claim it will raise more than $350 million for the state.
On the opposite side are anti-tax activists as well as some lawmakers who think they can balance the budget without raising any taxes.
A tobacco tax may not eliminate all of Georgia’s budget issues, but it’s much easier for taxpayers to accept than the elimination of educational programs and the punitive nature of pricing a higher education out of the reach of the average family.
But one wonders if the tobacco tax, a so-called “sin” tax, is raised, what might be next? If smoking is unhealthy and should be discouraged, isn’t over-eating a health issue as well? How about a tax on soft drinks? Or a Twinkie tax? In some states and in many foreign countries, paying up to $10 for a can of Coke is the norm. However, typically in those areas, there are no taxes on food, clothing, and other basic necessities.
So Georgia lawmakers have some decisions to make. But balancing the budget on the backs of the youth of the state shouldn’t even be in consideration. However, asking taxpayers to help fund the rising costs of health care, Medicaid and the like by paying more for their personal indulgences doesn’t seem too much to ask.
