DeWine’s budget plan calls for increased taxes on cigarettes, cannabis and new child tax credit

Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday proposed a two-year state budget that included increased taxes on cigarettes and cannabis and the addition of a new child tax credit (Source: “DeWine proposes hiking sin taxes for budget priorities,” Toledo Blade, Feb. 3).
 
DeWine’s budget proposal calls for raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes from $1.60 to $3.10 to pay for a new refundable $1,000 tax credit for families with at least one full-time minimum-wage job for each child in the household who is 6 and younger. The size of the credit would decrease as income rises.
 
The governor’s budget also includes a plan to raise the tax on recreational cannabis to 20% from the 10% approved by voters in 2023 when they legalized the industry. The money would be distributed according to the menu originally proposed last session by the Ohio Senate on such things as local jail improvements, law enforcement, poison control, assistance in having old cannabis-related convictions expunged, and addiction services.