Christie Resorts to E-Cigarette Tax to Plug $807 Million Deficit
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, seeking cash in the face of a $1.06 billion shortfall, proposes leaning harder on smokers with a tax on electronic cigarettes.
The only U.S. state that spends none of its own money to combat nicotine addiction, New Jersey would use the estimated $35 million in annual revenue for general spending. Christie’s plan follows a deal on tobacco bonds in March that contributed to a credit downgrade for $2.4 billion in state general-obligation debt.