PM USA speaks out for Virginia smokers

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 01/04/2009

Jan 2, 2009-Philip Morris USA has hit back at a Washington Post editorial, saying that increasing cigarette taxes in Virginia would be unfair. In a letter to the editor published at washingtonpost.com, the company made the point that while the paper's December 29 editorial, 'Mr. Kaine's Budget' [Timothy M. Kaine] had highlighted the burden that Virginia's governor bore in addressing the state's budget shortfall, it grossly underestimated the revenue burden the state's smokers were under already. 'This past fiscal year, Virginia received more than $170 million in cigarette excise tax revenue, $92 million from cigarette sales taxes and an additional $133 million in payments from the Master Settlement Agreement - nearly equaling the $400 million in annual Medicaid expenses the editorial attributed to Virginia smokers,' said the letter signed on behalf of PM USA by Brendan J. McCormick, vice president, corporate communications, Altria Client Services. 'Cigarette smokers also paid $64 million in excise taxes to local governments. 'About half of the price of a pack of cigarettes sold in the state goes to the government. 'Increasing this burden with a higher cigarette excise tax would be unfair to adult smokers and would harm Virginia's manufacturers, tobacco growers, wholesalers, retailers and the jobs they provide.' Enditem