Proposed cigarette tax hike upsets Kansas smokers

Kansas smokers are upset about plans to sharply increase the cigarette tax to help fill a budget hole.

The Wichita Eagle reports that smokers say they will take their business to Missouri or Oklahoma if the tax hike passes.

Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed boosting the tax on cigarettes from 79 cents a pack to $2.29 to address a deficit of about $422 million. The proposal isn’t popular among some lawmakers, especially those who live on the border with Missouri, where the cigarette tax is a nation’s-lowest 17 cents.

At $2.29 a pack, the Kansas tax would be $1.26 higher than Oklahoma’s and $2.12 more than in Missouri.

The Kansas Division of the Budget projects the higher tax would generate nearly $81 million more during the next fiscal year.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 6:54 AM with the headline "Proposed cigarette tax hike upsets Kansas smokers."