State senator says tobacco and e-cigarette tax hikes will hurt small businesses
The senator speaks from experience. He previously owned a retail store in Monroe, near the Ohio border. It was around that time that Gov. Jennifer Granholm spearheaded a major hike in the state's tobacco tax.
(Fox 2) – Some may oppose the tax increase, as the anti-smoking lobby is pushing hard to increase state tobacco taxes on electronic cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
This one point will probably have the support of a majority in Congress.
“I'm 100 percent on board with the discussion about taking e-cigarettes out of the hands of children,” said state Sen. Joe Bellino.
That's the easy part, but the tax increases built into the bill to get the job done aren't so easy.
Tim Skubik: “So you’re not voting?”
“As it's written right now, I'm voting no,” Bellino said.
The senator speaks from experience. He previously owned a retail store in Monroe, near the Ohio border.
That's when Gov. Jennifer Granholm spearheaded a major hike in the state's tobacco tax.
Back home at his small store in southeastern Michigan, Bellino said his business has taken a financial hit.
“We lost 25% of our business overnight,” he said. “My store was 27 miles from the border. They were buying beer, buying popcorn, buying gas without a deposit. That's how much we were paying in taxes. Did we lose it? We lost hundreds of millions of dollars, and I don't know if this is the right way to do it.”
The head of the coalition of public health agencies pushing the bill will be challenged by Bellino and others to find another way to protect children from smoking without taxing anyone.
“I think there are some changes that need to be made to this bill to get a 'yes' vote,” he said.
What they will be remains to be determined, as the Senate will soon prepare for the first hearings on all of this.
(Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
