According to the New York Times, Gov. David A. Paterson has reached a tentative deal with leglislative leaders that would raise New York’s cigarette tax by $1.60 per pack making it the highest cigarette tax in the nation:
The proposal, which officials said Mr. Paterson would include in an emergency budget bill due for a vote on Monday, would also raise wholesale taxes on other tobacco products like chewing tobacco, bringing the tax on those products closer in line with those of cigarettes.
In New York City, which levies steep taxes of its own on tobacco products, a pack of cigarettes would come with a tax of $5.85, making it the nation’s first city to break $5, antismoking advocates said. That would bring the overall cost of a pack of premium cigarettes above $10 in many stores in the city.
The legislation will also include a plan to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold off the reservation by Indian tribes in New York, an issue that has provoked confrontations between State Police officers and protesting tribe members in years past.
Here is a map from Tax Foundation, which shows the state excise tax rates on cigarettes per 20-pack of cigarettes as of January 1, 2009. Click the map to enlarge.
