High Court Rejects Cigarette Tax Challenge
SAN FRANCISCO — Proposition 10, which raised taxes on cigarettes by 50 cents a pack, has survived its first court test.
The state Supreme Court voted unanimously Wednesday to deny requests by cigar and pipe tobacco dealers to block collection of the tax and review the dealers’ claim that the measure violates the state Constitution.
Charles Jannigan, president of the California Assn. of Tobacconists, said the group will shift its attack on Proposition 10 to a county Superior Court in the next 10 days. The new lawsuit will claim that the initiative unfairly assesses a double tax on tobacco dealers that sell products other than cigarettes, he said.
The initiative, narrowly approved in November, raises $700 million a year for a variety of programs related to early childhood development.
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