Minor – What about ‘terbacci’?
Lo and behold, Haley Barbour, the anti-tax champ, perhaps in a giddy mood after signing the 50-cent cigarette tax hike, told reporters he wished smokeless tobacco (snuff, chaws for instance) were hit with a higher tax. He went on to say that the state could pick up $25 million if smokeless tobacco and a small group of specialty cigs were taxed.
The fact Barbour finally found a tobacco tax increase he liked must be noted, given that he had twice vetoed cig tax bills sent to him by the Legislature when he was in his “no new taxes” mode. The pity is Mississippi is joining the tobacco tax hike parade long after many other states with a higher tobacco taxes rate increased theirs.
Plus, only after Congress, moved by President Obama, raised the federal tobacco tax to bolster the CHIP program.
Worse yet, it took a totally unrelated “crisis” in the car tag subsidy fund to give cover for some Barbour GOP loyalists to make the tobacco tax switch.
For some time I’ve had a theory that Barbour was yearning to make a triumphant return as RNC chairman to lead a party comeback after the Obama trouncing. Whether Barbour would make his move back to the Beltway before his term ends in January 2012 was the only question, I theorized.
But wait: A hot rumor made the rounds at the state Capitol last week that Haley has his sights on becoming the Ole Miss chancellor and getting a place-holder appointee to succeed Chancellor Bob Khayat in July. Maybe that’s not so far-fetched. Nervousness was reported on the University campus last week over a report that Jackson attorney R. Barry Cannada, who has zero academic credentials, would be plugged in as Khayat’s successor to satisfy some alumni, rather than Dr. Dan Jones, the highly regarded vice chancellor who heads the University Medical Center in Jackson.
Bill Minor
The Neshoba Democrat
5/13/9
Magnolia Tribune
