Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-05
Tobacco Tax Seen
Boon to Near Areas
D. c. Border
Counties Nav
Get ST. Million
BY q star Stan Correspondent

Prince Georges County an esti-
mated 1857 800 a year and add
abouto 100000 annually to
Montgomery County's income.
Those were the estimates to-
day by James B. Rennie. State
budget director.
Under the Governors plan for
taxing tobacco products, more
than half of the total expected
return of SIT million would be
|redistributed to Baltimore City
and the % counties.
Gov. McKeldin proposed the
Scent per pack levy on ciga-
rettes and similar levies on cigars
and other tobacco products in
order to raise an estimated 81
million needed to balance his
State budget for the next fiscal
year.
Reaction to the plan has
ranged from the righteous anger
of most lawmakers from South
ern Maryland tobacco-growing
areas to one of acceptance by
Legislators cycling the increase in
revenues it would bring to their
counties.
Three Prince Georges dele
gates-Carlton r. Sickles, Her.
vey G. Machen and Lansdale G.
Sasscer, jr.-expressed fear that
a five-cent Maryland cigarette
tax might harm merchants in
their county because Of compe-
Itition from the District. where
the cigarette tax is two cents
Iper pack.
Favored Over County Tax
However, Delegate Perry o.
Wilkinson. Prince Georges dele
CATION chairman, said he thinks
a State cigarette tax might be.
more acceptable to the public
than a county tax. The Prince
Georges County Commissioners
earlier had requested that the
Legislature authorize a two-cent
per pack cigarette tax for the
county to meet a SIS million
deficit for next fiscal year.
Maryland is one of the few
States in the Nation not taxing
tobacco products on Statewide
basis. Local tobacco products
taxes are collected in Baltimore
City, Baltimore County, Mont
gomery, Hartford and Garrett
Counties.
Baltimore City and Baltimore
County would not benefit from
the McKeldin plan, since they
already levy a 3-cent-a-pack Gig
arctic tax, which is the amount
the Governor proposes to rebate
to the counties. The other
counties levy taxes of only 2
cents per pack and, therefore.
would stand to receive about q
third more than present rev.
enue.
Montgomery, for example. has
estimated it will realize more
than 900 in this first year
of its local tobacco levy. Mr..
Rennie's figures show Montgon1-
Iery due to receive $859.000 UNI
der the McKeldin plan.
Other estimates by Mr.. Rennie
show:
Anne Arundel, $3.50, 200; Cali
vert, $4,000; Charles, $4,000:
Frederick, $208,800; Howard.
$50, 100: st. Marys. $106.500, and
Washington, $263.700.
Senator Edward S. Northrop,
Democrat of Montgomery, at
tackled the plan as a "stop-gap
measure which passes the buck
to the Legislature to balance the
Governors budget"
Lee Withholds Comment
Delegate Blair Lee III. Demo-
cratic chairman of the Mont
gomery delegation. said he
wanted to reserve comment until
the Governor sends his budget
down later this month, and he
can get the entire picture.
State Senator I H. Winship
Wheatley, jr., Democrat Of
Prince Georges, did not join the
other Southern Maryland sena-
tors in attacking the plan. He
also said he wished to reserve
comment.
Mr.. Sasscer, whose home town
of Upper Marlboro is one of the
hubs of Southern Maryland to-
bacco country, said he is opposed
to any cigarette tax because
Surveys have shown that there
lis a relationship between tobacco
taxes and sales in the areas
where they are levied"
He also said the tax proposed
by the Governor would have a
bad psychological effect" on
many tobacco farmers. and cause
them to go into other lines Of
endeavor.
Mr.. Machen said he also OPP
poses cigarette taxes and criti-
cized Gov. McKeldin particu-
larry for playing politics with
the school teachers pay raise
issue"
The Governor, in press state
ment announcing the cigarette
tax plan. said he hoped the
counties would use some of the
tobacco tax revenue to raise
teachers salaries.
This was taken as a clear in
dication that he does not in
tend to provide the $500 across
the-board increase in State
teacher pay minimums asked by
the State Board of Education
and the State Teachers Associa-
ton.