Topic Proposal

For my paper I am going to write a local policy argument on the cigarette tax in North Carolina. The problem is that tobacco use is something that is hazardous to one’s health. Also with the economy at one of its worst points in years the need for tax revenue is something that will help the government to get us out of the current economic crisis. The solution to this problem is to increase taxes on tobacco in North Carolina, which has one of the lowest taxes on tobacco in the country. To implement this tax we need to study how much we should tax and still gain an increase in tax revenue. If we tax to much then there will be a decrease in consumption which could lead to no real net increase in tax revenue. However, if we tax to little then there will not be any benefit to the overall health of the citizens because they will continue to smoke. Since North Carolina has one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the country due to its major impact on the economy then it would make since to raise the tax to up around the average for most states. The effect of tobacco on the North Carolina economy has steadily been going down since many of the companies are outsourcing their jobs.