California Today: Fretting Over the ‘Netflix Tax’

California finally passed a $2 per pack cigarette tax increase (now to $2.87). But this is still far below NY State ($4.35) and NYC (an additional $1.50 for a total NYC $5.85).

The health care costs from smoking, including that paid for by your taxes far exceeds the revenues from tobacco taxes which means that most of the population, non-smokers, are paying additional taxes to pay for smokers.

Raising the cost of tobacco of all interventions to help people to quit smoking, contributes more than half the total effect. Thus further increasing tobacco taxes ensures that youth never start and smokers quit, thus providing a positive feedback loop for decreasing health care costs at the state, federal, and private firm level.

Additional info from Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160926/11295235634/46-ca...