According to the Wall Street Journal, a proposal to impose a federal tax on e-cigarettes has been removed from the Democratic Party’s health care, education and climate change bill.
The deleted clause will impose a tax on e-cigarette products so that the e-cigarette tax is parallel to the existing federal cigarette tax rate of $1.01 per pack.
This tax has aroused a lot of criticism from representatives of the e-cigarette industry and tobacco harm reduction advocates, who stated that in some cases, it will make e-cigarettes more expensive than combustible cigarettes-which is an anomalous result because people generally believe E-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking.
Critics also pointed out that taxes will be regressive. According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans with an annual household income of less than $40,000 are more likely to smoke e-cigarettes than high-income groups.
Proponents of e-cigarettes welcomed this decision.
“There is evidence that the new excise tax on e-cigarette products will prevent adults from quitting smoking and shut down small businesses that are already responding to federal regulations that are hitting the industry,” said Gregory Conley, president of the American Electronic Cigarette Association.