Cigarette Taxes in South Carolina

Higher Taxes Affect You

ALERT: Right now, politicians in South Carolina want to increase the cigarette tax by up to $1.27 per pack. That’s an increase of more than 1800 percent! Now is the time to take action. Contact your elected officials today and make your voice heard:

• Call your elected officials: 1.866.658.8337 (toll-free)
• Email your elected officials

Tax Facts

The excise tax on one pack of cigarettes in South Carolina is currently $0.07.

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

	Excise Taxes	Sales Taxes	Tobacco Settlement Payments	Total Smoker Payments FY2007
State: Local:	$27,554,000 $0	$63,057,000 $0	$70,800,000	$161,411,000

Total tobacco settlement payments to South Carolina to date (1998-2007): $605,600,000

Economic and Tax Profile of South Carolina Smokers

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

• South Carolina smokers' median household income: $32,726
• South Carolina non-smokers' median household income: $45,627
• 37.4% of South Carolina smokers had household incomes LESS THAN $25,000
• Only 14.5% of South Carolina smokers had household incomes EQUAL TO or GREATER THAN $75,000

Average Tobacco Taxes and Payments

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

Total average paid per South Carolina smoker in excise and sales taxes:	$133
Cost per South Carolina smoker for settlement payments to South Carolina:	$104
Total annual payments to South Carolina per smoker:	$237

Smoker Payment Comparisons

Payments by South Carolina smokers in FY2007 were:

• Larger than state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, and liquor) for FY2007 ($155.6 million)
• Larger than FY2007 corporation license and business license tax revenues combined ($96.8 million)
• Larger than FY2007 insurance premium tax revenues ($159.1 million)

South Carolina smoker payments of OVER $160 MILLION were large enough to support FY2007 funding for:

• Child Protective Services ($34.3 million) AND South Carolina State University ($110.2 million)
  OR
• Department of Public Safety ($151.3 million)
  OR
• Department of Natural Resources ($85.5 million) AND Infectious Disease Prevention ($65.9 million)

Help prevent more state tobacco tax increases.
Call 1.877.857.8074 or email your state representative.