With fewer states considering tax increases in 2022 and not enacting higher taxes, the question becomes why? There are a couple of explanations. First, many states had budget surpluses this year, negating a need to raise taxes. Second, as a part of a stimulus bill known as the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed by President Biden, all 50 states received direct one-time stimulus fund payments in the aggregate totaling $195 billion dollars. Without these one-time stimulus payments, more states may consider raising taxes during the 2023 legislative cycle.
There were only three states, Alaska, Iowa, and Tennessee, that introduced bills to tax vapor products and none of the bills was enacted into law. Of note, though, Alaska’s bill made it through both chambers but, in the end, was vetoed by the Governor.
In reviewing 2022’s proposed flavor ban bills across all 50 states, there were several different types of flavor bans proposed. These bans included banning menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco, flavored cigars, flavored electronic cigarettes, flavored hookah tobacco and/or electronic cigarette/vapor flavor bans. Eleven states introduced bills to ban all flavored tobacco products. These states included Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
There were seven states that introduced bills that looked to ban all flavored vapor products. The states that introduced such bills included Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington. However, none of the bills became law.
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