N.C. has seventh-lowest cigarette tax

North Carolina has the seventh-lowest cigarette tax in the U.S.

The state's current 35-cent per pack excise tax on cigarettes is higher only than six other states, including border states of South Carolina and Virginia, as of Jan. 1, 2008, according to research by the Federation of Tax Administrators.

South Carolina's seven-cent rate is the lowest in the country, while Virginia's is closer, at 30 cents. Georgia levies 37 cents per pack; Tennessee, 62 cents.

The highest rate is New Jersey, at $2.57 and a half-cent per pack. The national median is $1 a pack, the rate in the District of Columbia, while the average for all 50 states and D.C. is $1.11.

In next year's budget, Gov. Mike Easley proposed raising the cigarette tax from 35 to 55 cents per pack to pay for public school teacher raises that would average 7 percent.

At 55 cents, North Carolina would be tied with West Virginia for the 12th-lowest cigarette tax in the country.