Pennsylvania smokers in border areas may flock to Delaware for their smokes, thanks to a $1 increase in the cigarette tax to $2.60 a pack.
That’s a dollar higher than Delaware’s cigarette tax, which is $1.60 a pack. While a far cry from the dirt-cheap 30 cent tax in Virginia, a headquarters mecca for tobacco companies, Delaware’s tax figure is a bargain when compared to the rate in neighboring states.
Maryland now charges $2 a pack, with New Jersey at $2.70 a pack. New York charges $4.35 a pack, the highest in the nation.
Smoking has been on the decline, thanks in part to high taxes and continuing price increases by tobacco companies, as well as stop smoking efforts and tobacco-free offices and even campuses.
High tobacco taxes have their critics, even among the ranks of nonsmokers. The tax falls more heavily on lower income people are more likely to smoke.
With Delaware facing a structural budget deficit in coming years, as other revenue sources, such as unclaimed property, remain uncertain, legislators may be tempted to turn to the tobacco tax to help plug the gap.
Pennsylvania is already the home of the nation’s highest gasoline tax, which is more than a quarter higher than the rate for Delaware.
The higher tobacco tax goes into effect on Aug. 1.
