Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says a voter-approved tobacco tax increase is the 80 cents per pack the language of the law calls for, not the less than a penny per pack the election ballot mistakenly stated.
Mr. Goddard issued a formal legal opinion Dec. 1 at the request of the state Revenue Department, the agency that levies the standards on tax products.
It was discovered shortly before the Nov. 7 general election that ballot language for Proposition 203, which would raise the tobacco tax for childhood development and health care programs and services, erroneously said the increase would be eight-tenths of a cent per pack.
But Mr. Goddard said what matters is that the text of Proposition 203 — the new law approved by voters — clearly states that the amount of the tax increase is four cents per cigarette, or 80 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes.
“The unambiguous statutory language is not altered by the misprint in the ballot description,” he wrote.
Mr. Goddard’s opinion also noted that the text of the ballot measure was printed in the state’s official election pamphlet sent to all voters’ households and that the pamphlet also included analytical and for-and-against arguments on the measure that referred to the 80-cent increase.
Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris USA established a campaign committee to oppose Proposition 203 but its sole campaign finance report indicated the committee raised and spent only $3,165.
Tim Campbell, Philip Morris director of governmental affairs and the treasurer of the Arizona committee against Proposition 203, did not immediately return a call for comment on Mr. Goddard’s opinion.
The Legislature’s budget staff has projected that Proposition 203, an initiative formally titled “First Things First for Arizona’s Children,” will raise $188 million in its first year, with $169.2 million used for programs and services and $18.8 million for administration.
Because the tobacco tax is collected via stamps purchased by wholesalers, purchasers of tobacco products shouldn’t see the tax right away because it would not apply to products already in retailers’ inventories, the Revenue Department has said.
Revenue Director Gale Garriott also requested a legal opinion regarding the application of Proposition 203 to sales of tobacco products on Indian reservations. Mr. Goddard said he will address those questions in a separate opinion.
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