Smokers in Wyoming might soon be paying up to an additional $1 per pack of cigarettes if a new proposed tax is passed by the Wyoming legislature.

House Bill 199 (HB 199) was passed on Friday by the House Revenue Committee on Friday morning and will likely be heard on the House floor early next week.

The $1.00 proposed tax increase would generate an estimated $22.3 million in revenue for the state of Wyoming, which would be used to help offset rising health care costs for smoking related illnesses, including Medicate expenses.

The tax increase is also designed to help reduce youth smoking in Wyoming  by up to 15% as well as help motivate some 4,000+ adult smokers to quit.  The increase in taxes could also prevent approximately 4,700 kids from ever starting to smoke in Wyoming.

Wyoming's cigarette tax rate is currently one of the lowest in the nation at just 60 cents per pack.

States with the LOWEST tax per pack on cigarettes:

Missouri - $0.17, Virginia - 0.30, Louisiana - 0.36, Georgia - 0.37 and Alabama - 0.42.

States with the HIGHEST tax per pack on cigarettes:

New York - $4.35, Rhode Island - 3.46, Connecticut - 3.40, Hawaii - 3.20 and Washington 3.02

 

 

 

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