CASPER, Wyo. — A proposal to raise taxes on cigarettes and moist snuff which would have generated about $7.07 million in additional revenue per year will not advance any further during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2021 General Session.
While the House Revenue Committee had voted 6-3 in January to recommend that the full House pass House Bill 55, the House did not take up the bill for a first reading vote ahead of the Monday, March 22 deadline.
Monday marked the last day for bills to be considered on first reading (Committee of the Whole) this legislative session.
House Bill 55 would have raised the cigarette tax in Wyoming from $0.60 per pack to $0.84 per pack, according to the Legislative Service Office. It also would have increased the tax on moist snuff from “$0.60 per ounce plus a proportionate tax at the same rate for any amount over 1 ounce to $0.72 per ounce plus a proportionate tax at the same rate for any amount over 1 ounce,” the LSO said in the fiscal note on the proposed legislation.
The tax increases would have generated an estimated $6.46 million in additional revenue in fiscal year 2022 and an additional $7.07 million per year in subsequent years, according to the LSO.
The revenues would have supported both the state’s General Fund as well as funding for local governments.
This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
