Smokers in Oregon take note: the tax on cigarettes is set to increase when the clock strikes midnight tonight. Effective January 1, 2014, the new rate of tax on a 20-count pack of cigarettes will be $1.31.
That’s a 13-cent jump. For the remainder of today, tax on a 20-count pack of cigarettes is still $1.18.
Road trip
There is speculation that Oregonians will be tempted to cross state lines to purchase their smokes with less tax. Oregon’s neighbors tax a 20-count pack of cigarettes at the following rates (plus state and local sales tax, which Oregon doesn’t have):
If few Oregonians will travel to Washington State for cigarettes, folks who live close to the California, Idaho or Nevada borders may indulge in a road-trip or two.
Not so fast
However, cigarettes purchased across state lines are not the deal they seem. The Oregon Department of Revenue reminds that all cigarettes purchased by Oregon residents are subject to Oregon’s cigarette tax, even when cigarettes are purchased online or “otherwise brought in from outside the state.”
Oregon’s tobacco taxes generate approximately $250 million annually.
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