Wyoming Legislature To Consider Tobacco Tax Increase

A bill to increase the state taxes on tobacco products has been filed for the 2021 session of the Wyoming Legislature.

You can read House Bill 55 here.

The bill would levy a tax of four and two-tenths cents on each cigarette sold by wholesalers in Wyoming. In cases where the cigarettes are not purchased from a wholesaler in the state, the same tax would be imposed at the retail level. In both cases, the bill would increase the current state tax per cigarette by 1.2 cents per cigarette from the current 3 cents.

The increase would amount to an additional 24 cents per pack of cigarettes, from 60 cents to 84 cents.

The tax on moist snuff would go from the current 60 cents per ounce to 72 cents The Legislative Service Office estimates the tax increase would bring in about $6.1 million per year to the state's general fund and around $920,000 per year to the Local Sources Fund once it is operational, assuming it becomes law.

House Bill 55 is sponsored by the Legislature's Joint Revenue Committee.

The legislature is currently scheduled to convene for a one-day virtual session on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The body will then adjourn until later in the year.