Amendment 3 and Proposition A: Dueling Cig Taxes

In my last two capitol reports, I outlined Amendment 1: The Soil, Water & Parks Tax, and Amendment 2: Campaign Contribution Limits.  This week, we delve into something more involved – the dueling cigarette taxes of Amendment 3 and Proposition A – dueling because Amendment 3 is funded by big tobacco companies and Prop A is funded by little tobacco companies.

Amendment 3 (A3) would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes from Big Tobacco (Marlboro, Camel, etc.) by 60 cents to 77c per pack, and from Little Tobacco (Cheyenne, Decade, etc.) by $1.27 to $1.44.  Currently, the tax is 17c per pack regardless of company – the lowest in the nation.  75% of the tax increase would go for funding and promoting pre-school, and the other 25% split among early childhood health care, a very narrowly tailored smoking cessation program, and administrative costs.

Proposition A would raise taxes on all cigarettes 23c per pack.  This extra tax money would go to transportation funding.  Prop A would create a law, whereas A3 goes even further to alter Missouri’s constitution.  I have been told that if both measures pass, then both taxes would apply.  But I have also been told that if both pass, then only the one getting the most votes would apply.  So it is unclear what would happen if both pass, and the outcome would probably get decided in court.

Proponents have pushed A3 as an education initiative that would be good for our kids and for our state.  Proponents of Prop A claim a cigarette tax is a way to improve roads without tolling interstates or a gas tax increase.  And A3 has received endorsements from Association for the Education of Young Children, SSM Health Care, and the NAACP.

But these measures have plenty of detractors too, for plenty of reasons.  Some of the reasons they cite are:

(1) The proposers of A3 are not parents or teachers, but Big Tobacco.  RJ Reynolds has so far contributed over $6 million to get A3 passed.  Why?  By imposing a much higher tax on Little Tobacco ($1.27/pack) than on Big Tobacco (60c/pack), A3 will help Big Tobacco regain market share and make more money.

(2) Those behind Prop A are not citizens concerned with roads and bridges, but Little Tobacco.  Prop A states that the 23c per pack tax is only collected if no other tobacco tax is put up for a vote ever again.  This would help Little Tobacco keep its pricing edge over Big Tobacco, and possibly stave off even higher tobacco taxes in the future.

(3) A3 creates another education-related government bureaucracy like DESE, and if A3 turns out to be flawed or needs tweaking, it would require another constitutional amendment to change it, which is extremely difficult.

(4) While Missouri citizens will pay the tax, Missouri citizens would not get to elect the people directly in control of that tax money.  Instead, a panel composed mostly of un-elected government bureaucrats appointed by the governor would control the money.

(5) The language of A3 would enshrine the topics of abortion and stem cell research into our constitution.  A3 would allow some of the cigarette tax money to be used for abortions in certain situations, to which pro-life groups object, and prevent money to be used in stem cell research, to which pro-choice groups object.

(6) Using a tobacco tax to fund basic government functions only puts the government in bed with tobacco companies since they would both benefit from citizens smoking more, not less. Tobacco taxes should only be used to fund programs to reduce tobacco use, and as tobacco use curtails so does the tax, and over time the two wean themselves out.

(7) The money Prop A would send to transportation would not be nearly enough to fulfill the funding MoDOT is hoping for, and so tolling or a gas tax increase would still be necessary.

Those against A3 and Prop A include the education groups Missouri National Education Association, Missouri Retired Teachers Association, and Missouri Association of Rural Education, as well as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, who would normally be in favor of reducing smoking.  Also against both measures are Missouri’s two main candidates for governor, Democrat Chris Koster and Republican Eric Greitens.

For more info on Amendment 3, visit www.tinyurl.com/hx6695g.  For Prop A, visit www.tinyurl.com/z2kwxxj.  For info on all ballot measures in November, visit www.sos.mo.gov/petitions/2016BallotMeasures.