So, Gov. Janet Mills has dusted off the playbook of former Gov. John Baldacci. Another Democrat governor can’t create a reasonable budget, and so pushes through an unreasonable one — heaped on the backs of smokers.
No one can claim that using tobacco products is wise, but it is a legal product.
A 50% increase in excise tax? Hey, it worked once.
What’s particularly insidious is that this “excise tax” is levied on the product price. At the register, Maine state sales tax is applied to the total. We’re paying tax on tax.
I hope members of the Maine House and Senate reject this easy out.
Neil Duggan, Monmouth
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