The Hattiesburg American Editorial, 11/20/8
GOV. Haley Barbour unveiled his proposed budget Tuesday for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and for the first time advocated an increase in Mississippi’s cigarette tax.
Overall, the $5.1 billion budget plan was “prudent and conservative” – words the governor used that fairly describe it. We’ll see what the Legislature comes up with next month, but this document provides a good starting point.
Barbour, finally, is backing away from his opposition to an increase in the state’s tobacco tax. At 18 cents a pack, the state has one of the lowest excise taxes in the country, and Barbour has been hammered for the last several years for refusing to consider any increase.
The governor, a former tobacco lobbyist, said he would reconsider his opposition if the tax study commission he appointed last year recommended a tobacco tax hike. The commission did, so the governor has the cover he sought.
Magnolia Tribune
