Emanuel Proposes Cigarette Tax Hike

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 21, 2013 10:25PM

Photo credit: City of Chicago/Brooke Collins

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already ruled out hikes in property, sales and gasoline taxes to shore up his proposed 2014 budget when it’s revealed Wednesday. Faced with a $338.7 million budget deficit, however, Emanuel may be eyeing a hike in the cigarette tax.

The Tribune reports Emanuel will propose raising the city’s cigarette tax by 75 cents to help ease the deficit and fund a Chicago Public Schools program that provides free eye exams and eyeglasses to students who fail vision screenings. The hike in the cigarette tax would be the first by the city since 2006 and would raise an estimated $10 million.

The proposed hike would increase the average price of a pack of cigarettes in Chicago to $7.42, the highest in the nation. The hike, if Emanuel moves forward with it, would come on the heels of a $1 hike in the county cigarette tax last year.