ATR Reports Half of America’s States Seeking E-Cig Taxes

Photo by Americans for Tax Reform

While 2014 saw 15 states trying to place a tax on vaping products, at the end of 2015, half of America, along with the District of Columbia, was on board to do the same. Paul Blair, state affairs manager at the Americans for Tax Reform, predicts more in 2016, according to DailyCaller.com.

Blair told the Daily Caller that taxing e-cigarette products “is not about public health but is instead about protecting the government’s revenue stream from smokers.” Blair said that since smokers pay a large tax, “switching from smoking to vaping could hammer the coffers of state governments, giving lawmakers an incentive to make switching increasingly unattractive.”

Minnesota, North Carolina, Louisiana, Kansas and the District of Columbia have already passed vaping product taxes, while measures have been filed in Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

ATR Reports Half of America’s States Seeking E-Cig Taxes