Cigarette Taxes in Massachusetts

Tax News

ALERT: Right now, politicians in Massachusetts want to increase the cigarette tax by up to $1.00 per pack. Now is the time to take action. Contact your elected officials today and make your voice heard:

Call your state representatives: 1.866.658.8337 (toll-free)
Email your state representatives

Tax Facts

The excise tax on one pack of cigarettes in Massachusetts is currently $1.51.

Take a closer look at the cigarette tax dollars being collected in Massachusetts in FY2007.

	Excise Taxes	Sales Taxes	Tobacco Settlement Payments	Total Smoker Payments FY2007
State: Local:	$418,499,000 $0	$71,219,000 $0	$243,300,000	$733,018,000

Total tobacco settlement payments to Massachusetts to date (1998-2007): $2,073,900,000

Economic and Tax Profile of Massachusetts Smokers

The impact of smoker payments on the incomes of working families was disproportionately greater than the impact on the minority of smokers who have higher incomes.

Massachusetts smokers' median household income: $46,345
Massachusetts non-smokers' median household income: $60,886

Average Tobacco Taxes and Payments

Tax and settlement payment liability paid only by smokers in FY2007 were:

Total average paid per Massachusetts smoker in excise and sales taxes:	$559
Cost per Massachusetts smoker for settlement payments to Massachusetts:	$278
Total annual payments to Massachusetts per smoker:	$837

Smoker Payment Comparisons

Payments by Massachusetts smokers in FY2007 were:

More than ten times as large as FY2007 state excise tax collections on alcoholic beverages ($71 million)
Nearly twice as large as FY2007 insurance excise taxes ($369 million)
More than twice as large as FY2007 financial institution excise taxes ($340.9 million)
Larger than FY2007 Motor Fuels Taxes ($676 million)

Massachusetts smoker payments of OVER $733 MILLION were large enough to support FY2007 funding for:

Department of Early Education and Care ($462.6 million) AND Sheriffs ($257.7 million)
OR
University of Massachusetts ($448.7 million) AND Services for Children and Families ($281.3 million)
OR
Dept. of Environmental Protection ($58.6 million) AND State Colleges ($207 million) AND Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development ($197.2 million) AND the Department of State Police ($254.6 million)