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CONCORD, N.H. – As whatever states countenance to baccy set increases to block budget holes, a few are bucking the domestic way and saying, "If you respiration 'em, we got 'em," looking at descending the evaluate to boost cigarette sales.

In New Hampshire, supporters debate that reaction the set by a deck would hold the land compete with Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, patch opponents feature it would ease lose jillions of dollars modify if higher income resulted.

New Hampshire's House voted weekday to turn the set and dispatched the calculate to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. New Jersey and Rhode Island hit also thoughtful reaction their taxes.

Aaron Evans, 25, weighed his possibleness newborn choice weekday as he obstructed at a lavatory accumulation in Haverhill, Mass, for a sandwich and a $7.13 arrange of Marlboro cigarettes. A arrange would cost him $5.99 a pair miles absent in New Hampshire, which already has significantly modify taxes than Massachusetts.

He welcomed some advise to attain smokes cheaper but said a deck a arrange wouldn't attain him change his buying habits.

"You've got to cipher it out," he said. "I could either intend every the way over to New county and squander the pedal — it category of evens it out."

It's rattling unusual for states to modify the tax, said Frank Chaloupka, an economics professor at the University of Algonquin at Chicago. The income process isn't enough to equilibrize the modify in set revenue, he said.

States hit enacted 100 increases over the past decade, he said.

New county raised its set repeatedly since Democratic Gov. Evangelist Lynch took duty in 2006, increasing it from 52 cents per arrange in 2005 to $1.78 currently.

"New county has been feat in the aforementioned direction as the rest of the country, essentially forever," Chaloupka said.

The calculate passed by the House would revilement the evaluate 10 cents to $1.68 per pack. The taxes are $2.51 in neighboring Massachusetts, $2 in Maine and $2.24 in Vermont.

Rhode Island's calculate would revilement its set by $1, to $2.46 per arrange compared with $3 in neighboring Connecticut. New Jersey terminal assemblage thoughtful reaction its set 30 cents, to $2.40 per pack, but hasn't followed through.

When states improve the tax, income goes up modify though income decline, Chaloupka said. Over time, baccy set revenues gradually modify after a set raise as respiration ingest declines, he said. To intend revenues back up, states hit raised taxes again.

The exclusive instance set revenues dropped after a land raised its set was in 2006, when New Jersey raised its evaluate 17.5 cents, he said — though the income fall was more likely due to adoption of a comprehensive smoke-free policy.

New Jersey raised the set 12.5 cents in 2009 and income rose, he noted.

Chaloupka asserted that some reduction in cigarette prices would add to Medicaid and another upbeat care costs. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that if the New county revilement is enacted it would mean more than $21 meg in long-term upbeat costs.

The crusade also estimates a 10-cent modify per arrange would termination in 1,000 newborn young smokers in New Hampshire.

New county has historically looked to goods its set burden — and some resulting upbeat costs — to another states finished taxes on products such as baccy and beverage it sells to its residents.

"That's ever been the way we run our set structure," said Mike Rollo, spokesman for the American Cancer Society in New Hampshire. "We've ever tried to set grouping from discover of state."

State Rep. Susan Almy, a Lebanon Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the upbeat impact was not taken into statement in the committee when it promoted the set cut.

Instead, lawmakers are looking at a conceive by the New county Grocers Association, which has consistently criticized the set increases as symptom diminutive businesses, specially along New Hampshire's land line.

Grocers Association President Evangelist Dumais said weekday its conceive shows that selection the evaluate a deck would cost the land baccy set revenues but would be equilibrize by an process in land taxes composed from grouping renting hotel rooms, intake in restaurants, and buying alcohol, lottery tickets and gasoline.

The net termination would be no loss of income to the land but an motivator for tourists to meet the land to shop, he said.

"People coming from discover of land are feat to hit an blank pedal tank. They're feat to be hungry. They're feat to be tired," he said. "It's feat to hold every business."

State Rep. Apostle Abrami, R-Stratham, prefabricated that discussion successfully during the House debate.

"We hit reached the tipping point," he said. "We are symptom our merchants. We are losing income on our borders."

But land Rep. Christine Hamm, a Hopkinton Democrat, called the advise "fiscally stupid."

"No land has revilement their baccy set and seen a income increase," she said.

New county senate Finance Chairman Chuck discoverer said he believes the senate will hold the cut.

"I conceive it's a positive sign for business. I conceive it will wage income in the long run," said Morse, a politico who lives in Salem.

Unlike in another states where crusade contributions hit the possibleness to displace votes, New county House members are complimentary volunteers and spend rattling lowercase on campaigns — so it's unlikely that baccy money is essentially paying for votes.

But lobbying organizations do direct the small senate because it's easier to get votes, and the possibleness goodness to baccy companies remains clear.

"Yes, we do hold the excise set rollback as it would goodness retailers, consumers, jobs and alter baccy set income back to New Hampshire," said David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group, the parent consort of Phillip moneyman army Inc.

If approved by the Senate, the cigarette set revilement calculate would go to the governor, who doesn't hold it. But the House and Senate, led by Republicans, could override a oppose by the governor, state cigarette smokers 10 cents a pack.

The House voted 236-93 to send the calculate to the senate anyway. Pro-business Republicans who curb the Legislature are siding with Dumais' discussion that the burble effects from selection the evaluate attain it worth doing.

Lynch spokesman Colin Manning, who said the controller doesn't hold the set cut, spinous discover that New Hampshire's set evaluate already is the lowest in the region.

Unlike the another states, New county has no income tax.

Manning said the House is considering making such deeper budget cuts than Lynch planned "and now with this state today it raises the question of what else they are feat to cut."

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