New York example sends sin tax rationale up in smoke

The following editorial was published in the Jan. 16 Orange County Register. It does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Cheney Free Press editorial board.

New York state offers a classic example of the failings of “sin taxes.”

Facing a budget crunch in 2010, the Legislature increased the cigarette excise tax by $1.60 per pack (58 percent), to a total of $4.35 per pack, by far the highest cigarette tax in the nation. In New York City, which additionally imposes its own $1.50 excise tax, on top of the $1.01 U.S. excise tax and sales taxes, taxes have tripled the cost of a pack...