Vermont Set to Hike Cigarette Tax as New Hampshire CUTS It

This Friday, Vermont’s cigarette tax goes up by 38 cents to $2.62 a pack, a move that backers hope will bring in an additional $4 million a year in revenue.

But there might be some bad news in store for residents of the Green Mountain State hoping the hike would help boost state coffers.  Just as Vermont’s tax is set to go up, its neighbor, Live-Free-Or-Die New Hampshire is cutting its cigarette tax by 10 cents a pack.

The dual moves could prove a boon for New Hampshire businesses, which already do a steady trade in selling goods taxed heavily by other states to residents of neighboring states who drive across the border to stock up.  Now, Vermonters may have an added reason to do so, and New Hampshire grocery and convenience stores hope to clean up.

Via NH Journal:

(more…)