Executive Summary
For Immediate Release
Sept. 30, 2014
Contact: Brian Dries
215-686-8869
Tobacco Tax Revenues Fall 11% Over Last Year
With the City’s new cigarette tax starting tomorrow, the City Controller’s
monthly Economic Report looks at what’s been collected so far on tobacco
PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released his latest monthly Economic Report that indicated the City of Philadelphia’s yearly Tobacco Tax collections declined by 11 percent from Fiscal Year 2013 to 2014.
In Fiscal Year 2013, the City collected $728,339 in revenues from the imposed tax on tobacco and tobacco-related products such as cigars, pipe tobacco, rolling papers and other loose tobacco. This is compared to the $649,508 collected in Fiscal Year 2014.
Since its inception in Fiscal Year 2011, Tobacco Tax revenues have totaled $2.3 million. A yearly breakdown of these revenues includes the following:
Fiscal Year Total Amount
FY2011 – $285,564
FY2012 – $628,300
FY2013 – $728,339
FY2014 – $649,508
The Tobacco Tax is paid and filed annually by Jan. 31 of each year for the prior year’s sales. While the current tax excludes cigarette and little cigars, starting Oct. 1, 2014 the new cigarette tax will impose a $2-per-pack tax on both of these items.
Along with reviewing Tobacco Tax revenues, the Controller’s economic report showed monthly Sales Tax collections in August totaled $22 million, an almost six percent decrease compared to last August. Yearly collections for this tax category have totaled almost $45 million, a less than two percent decrease over last year. In addition, monthly home sales totaled 1,131, marking a more than two percent increase compared to the same month last year.
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