Our Butts Are Cheaper Than Yours

By DAN TUOHY, Associate Regional Editor, NH Patch

A bill in the New Hampshire Legislature to hike the state cigarette tax by 20 cents was ultimately killed in the Senate on a party-line vote back in May. Republicans argued it would put a crimp on cross-border sales. Now, will merchants north of the border get a big sales boost?

Massachusetts will hike its cigarette tax by $1 to $3.51 a pack – the second highest state tobacco levy in the nation – and the Bay State will also raise its gas tax by 3 cents per gallon. In a deja vu policy argument, the New Hampshire State Senate nixed a bill sponsored by Rep. David Campbell (D-Nashua) to raise the state's gas tax rate from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon, which Campbell wanted as a dedicated revenue stream for road and bridge improvements.

New Hampshire's bill would have increased the state cigarette tax from $1.68 to $1.88 per pack. Each 10-cent increase in the rate increases state revenue by about $10 million annually.

So, will the our-butts-are-cheaper-than-yours message get across to Bay Staters, and will they come in greater droves to sales-tax-free New Hampshire?