RADFORD, VA. – Buying a pack of cigarettes in Radford is about to get more expensive.
On Monday night, the city council approved the initial plan to raise the tax by more than two and a half times.
The tax on cigarettes and tobacco is on the agenda for many localities across Virginia right now, including in Radford due to the recent general assembly action. The increase is the first since 2004.
“Radford has struggled over the years with some of the challenges that we’ve had to find revenue that can help us with our public safety programs, revenue that can help with our initiatives for the city,” Radford Mayor David Horton said.
Horton said it’s been a council goal for a long time. Currently, the tax is 15 cents on every pack. Moving forward it will cost 40 cents per pack, although they don’t know how much it will bring in.
“Because we do know it may adjust some people’s smoking patterns, it may adjust some of their utilization, but we obviously know that it will be significantly more than what we’ve been bringing in today,” Horton said.
Council unanimously agrees on the idea, although Mayor Horton suggested waiting until September to phase it in. All other councilmembers, including Onassis Burress, said the end of June as proposed is enough time.
“So retailers, though there is a perceived hardship, they do have the ability to sell through their 15 cent stamps which gives them ample time to collect revenues, and collect sales from those existing 15 cent stamps prior to those 40 cent stamps being implemented,” Burress said.
It’s set to take effect at the end of June pending one more vote although the money won’t likely start coming in until 2022. Horton said this brings the city in line with other localities in the New River Valley.
“It hasn’t truly been just about the revenue, what we’ve been trying to do is find that happy medium of where we are comparable to the communities around us,” Horton said.