LAWMAKERS PUSH FOOD-CIGARETTE TAX SWAP
Bipartisan supporters of a proposed food-cigarette tax swap
believe they have come up with a fiscally - and physically -
healthier plan to create revenue in Tennessee.
Two sponsors of the bill - state Rep. Harry Tindell,
D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville - met
Friday morning at the local office of Tennesseans for Fair
Taxation on Magnolia Avenue to push for support.
The bill, which 20 Democratic and Republican lawmakers in
Nashville are sponsoring, would call for a reduction of the
state tax on food but an increase on the cigarette tax.
Tennessee ranks first among the 20 states that tax food, with an
average 8.35 percent combined state and local tax, proponents of
the tax swap said.
On cigarette taxes, the state ranks 47th, with an extra 20 cents
charged per pack.
