Idaho Cigarette Tax May Be Going Up

Idaho lawmakers are expected to consider a bill in the new session that would boost the state cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack.

State Rep. Dennis Lake, who heads Idaho's House Revenue and Taxation Committee, said that he agreed to sponsor the measure because of the savings it would bring to health care costs. The move is projected to meet stiff opposition by an Idaho legislature that has turned sharply conservative, resistance that Lake is prepared to challenge. Lake says that  legislators have just come from spending some face-to-face time with their constituents and that Idahoan don’t want any new taxes but he says he thinks of the increase as a user fee rather then a tax.