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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

South Carolina Legislators Rebuke New Tax to Pay For Health Insurance

By Ethan Kalvin

After working its way through the legislative process, a bill that would have raised cigarette taxes in South Caroling was blocked by the Senate Minority Leader. The bill would have generated money to assist in covering health care costs.

South Carolina currently has a cigarette tax of 7 cents per pack, a national low. The bill would have increased the state's tax to 50 cents per pack, which would have generated $145 million in annual revenue. The national average for cigarette taxes is $1.23 per pack.

The majority of the money from the tax would be applied toward a maximum of $3,000 for individual health care plans for low income uninsured residents. Employers who contributed would also receive a credit of 67% for their contributions.

The bill was a waste of time, proclaimed John Land, the Senate Minority Leader. He thinks the tax revenue should be put in the Medicaid state plan to have a more efficient impact.

Land said he thought the bill was one of the silliest things he'd seen during his time in South Carolina politics, and that he would not vote for it under any circumstances.

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