Assembly's cigarette tax punishes use of legal item

The Anchorage Assembly lost its collective mind when it abandoned the notion of everybody paying equally their fair share of city taxes to provide services we all receive. It now believes it can single out select, small groups using legal products and tax them mercilessly because it is, after all, best for the children.

It is cynical, predatory government at its worst.

Eight Assembly members last week voted to increase the city cigarette tax by 75 cents a pack to bring in perhaps $6.2 million. That would make the city levy on flavor cigarettes $2.21 a pack. That is in addition to the $3-a-pack state and federal taxes already in place.

Of course, the hypocrites who want you to believe the increase is aimed at stopping people -- particularly children -- from smoking are hard at work trying to justify the tax. If they were telling the truth about wanting to protect people, tax proponents would be pushing for something more draconian. The tax increase, no matter what backers say, is about easy money.

Not surprisingly, the measure was introduced by Assembly Chairman Dick Traini, who told the Anchorage Daily News the Assembly "could figure out later whether to use the new tobacco tax revenue to offset property taxes, or to restore some services." Figure out later? No kidding. Tax first, ask questions later.

Traini is wrong. Instead of whittling away at property taxes and the city bureaucracy at a time of economic stagnation, budget deficits and government bloat, he is busy trying to boost taxes on individuals whose only sin is using a legal but politically incorrect product.
Why target smokers? They represent a small group, and it is tough to defend their smoking. It is a dirty, self-destructive addiction and smokers are easy targets. But all that is a distraction that blurs the truth. What we should be howling about is government targeting specific groups for onerous taxes. If the Assembly is free to hammer tobacco users, why not people who eat fast food, drink water from plastic bottles or who voted for Joe Miller, although it may soon be tough to find any of them?

The biggest surprise in the vote was that the only Assembly members to line up against the increase -- and it truly boggles the mind -- were Elvi Gray-Jackson, Harriet Drummond and Patrick Flynn. The Anchorage Daily News even had Gray-Jackson saying, "It's simply not the role of government to tax people out of a bad habit. ... It's simply not fair."

It was the "Twilight Zone," or maybe somebody spiked the Assembly's champagne, or maybe the three represent areas of working class folks of lower economic status who, most studies show, are the nation's prime smokers. These three Assembly members usually are dead wrong when it comes to taxes and fiscal matters, but they nailed it this time. Well, kinda. Gray-Jackson also blamed the push for the tobacco tax increase on Mayor Dan Sullivan's steadfast refusal to tax to the tax cap -- that mean guy -- and Flynn thought the increase was just too much. What could the rest of the Assembly members -- some who claim conservative credentials -- have been thinking?

Worse, the tax increase could lead to even more taxes. When city number crunchers huddle to figure next year's tax cap, revenue collected by the levy will be added to the calculations and eventually help raise the cap and your taxes.

Sullivan should veto this tax even if it did win eight votes, the magic number for an override. If the Assembly wants the tax, Sullivan should make it overcome his veto so voters may remember. If a tax veto actually is overridden, the revenue should be used only to offset property taxes -- and nothing else.

A targeted, specific tax such as the Assembly's tobacco levy is just another sign that our government is out of control. The increase speaks volumes about what Assembly members think of their constituents, and it mostly is this: We can do anything we want if you do not have the votes to hurt us at the next election. What a lousy way to run a government.

If the do-gooders were serious, if all this were about saving us from ourselves, they would push for an outright ban -- but they are not. They will never kill the tobacco cash cow, no matter the health implications.