“As the Maryland General Assembly’s 2021 session gets underway, lawmakers will consider a tax hike bill previously vetoed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R). It has several parts, but the cigarette tax increase should cause some consternation. House Bill 732 would raise cigarette taxes by $1.75 per pack and raise taxes on other products as well. High excise taxes on cigarettes encourages smuggling, but it has other effects, too. One effect is brazen lawlessness that has included retailer and wholesaler thefts, hijackings, violence against people, property and police and public corruption. All of this law enforcement hassle might be worth it if the tax hikes cause smokers to quit in the numbers predicted by some officials, and society gains from improved public health. Frequently we’ve seen lawmakers and others simply point to a decline in the legal purchase of cigarettes and say, “The tax hike worked.” But research shows that up to 85 percent of after-tax hike changes in legal sales may be a function of tax evasion and avoidance and not from quitting.”
NOTE: House Bill 732 Summary: “imposing a sales and use tax rate of 12% on electronic smoking devices”
ARTICLE LINK: A cigarette tax hike in Maryland would increase smuggling
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