Number
060460
Version
SUBSTITUTE 2
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. WITKOWSKI
Title
Substitute resolution directing the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state enabling legislation for the imposition of a cigarette tax by municipalities and counties.
Analysis
Currently, there are federal and state taxes on the sale of cigarettes in Wisconsin, but municipalities and counties do not have authority to impose a tax on cigarettes. This resolution directs the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state enabling legislation for the imposition of a cigarette tax by municipalities and counties.
Body
Whereas, It is estimated that 27% of adults, high school and middle school students in the City of Milwaukee are smokers, and each year approximately 15% of all deaths and approximately 12,000 years of potential life lost are attributable to smoking; and
Whereas, The financial impact of cigarette smoking due to healthcare costs in the City is approximately $250 million annually, and the estimated cost of cigarette smoking is more than $400 for every person, adult and child; and
Whereas, Careless smoking is consistently either the first or second leading cause of fire deaths each year in the U.S., and injuries from smoking fires are more than twice as likely than in fires caused by other sources, and the fatality rate is nearly 4 times higher, and in the years 2005 to 2008 there have been at least 115 smoking-related fires in the City causing property losses of more than $1,000,000, not including costs associated with the provision of emergency medical services and the services of the fire and police departments; and
Whereas, Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with more than 135 million pounds littered annually in the United States; and
Whereas, It has been estimated that more than 40,000,000 packs of cigarettes are sold in Milwaukee each year; and
Whereas, Therefore, the costs associated with cigarettes place an enormous burden on the City's fiscal well-being as well as on the public health of its citizens; and
Whereas, Taxpayers, whether they are smokers or nonsmokers, are disproportionately burdened by the costs associated with smoking, as public resources are allocated to subsidize healthcare, recover property losses from smoking-related fires and remediate cigarette litter; and
Whereas, Increased taxes on cigarettes will help to recover City budget expenditures related to healthcare, fires and litter caused by smoking and provide for future relief for taxpayer expenditures; and moreover will reduce the number of smokers, especially young and underage smokers, and prevent people from starting to smoke; and smokers and nonsmokers will collectively benefit from a reduction in smoking, as the costs associated with morbidity, healthcare, productivity, fires and cigarette litter will be reduced; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration is directed to seek introduction and passage of state enabling legislation for the imposition of a cigarette tax by municipalities and counties.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB06360-3
RLW
12/8/2008
Technical correction made in 2nd Whereas Clause 12/9/08 - LME