A Senate budget nixes the call for a $1 per pack tax increase after the House approves a version of its bill including the tax.
After the Indiana House put forth a budget that raises the cigarette tax by $1 per pack to help pay for Medicaid and smoking-cessation programs and shifts the sales tax charged on gasoline purchases to pay for roads, an Indiana Senate panel has put forth a two-year, $32.1 billion state budget plan of its own.
According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the Senate plan would not call for raising the cigarette tax nor would it shift the sales tax on gas to pay for roads. The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the budget—which is for 2018 and 2019.
The House budget was passed in late February and comes to $31.7 billion. The Senate is expected to pass its budget in coming days. Then negotiations will begin between the Legislature’s top budget writers before the Indiana General Assembly adjourns at the end of April, Indianapolis Business Journal noted.