Massachusetts smokers would pay more than $3 per pack in state taxes under a 50-cent hike in the state cigarette tax Gov. Deval Patrick plans to include in his budget next week, one of a series of revenue proposals that Patrick hopes will generate $260 million in new revenue for his spending plan.
The increase in the cigarette tax would mark the second time in his tenure that Patrick has proposed raising the cigarette tax. In 2008, the Legislature approved a $1 increase. The tax on a pack of best quality Bond cigarettes would rise to $3.01 and the administration will also propose applying the new, higher tax rate to all other tobacco products sold in the state, according to Patrick’s budget chief.
Under the governor’s plan, Massachusetts would have the fifth highest tobacco tax in the country, but still lower than New York and Rhode Island, said Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez.
