Butts burn through city’s cash
May 19, 2009
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| Price of a puff: The City spends $10.7 million a year cleaning up smokers’ discarded cigarette butts. (Getty Images) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Smokers in The City may have to pay an additional 33 cents for a pack of cigarettes to subsidize the cleanup of butts and help close a massive budget deficit.
The fee would be tacked on to the purchase price, which currently can be as high as $7 in San Francisco.
The City spends more than $44 million each year picking up litter throughout San Francisco, and $10.7 million of that is for discarded cigarettes, according to the Mayor’s Office. The 33-cent fee is expected to raise $11 million annually.
Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposal for the cigarette fee comes just two weeks before he must submit a balanced city budget to the Board of Supervisors for review and adoption. The City faces a projected $438 million deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
“All litter creates unnecessary costs for the city and its taxpayers,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said. “Cigarette butts are a big part of the problem.”
Butts were one the largest sources of trash in the latest litter audit, according to Ed Reiskin, director of the Department of Public Works, which sweeps up the discarded cigarettes.
Under state law, The City cannot tax cigarettes. However, they can charge a fee to recoup the cost of cleaning up trash created by cigarettes.
California smokers already pay an 87-cent-per-pack tobacco tax, according to the California Lung Association. A recent state bill proposes adding an additional $1.50 to the tax, bringing the cost to $2.37 per pack. It would be the fifth highest rate in the nation and, if passed, would be the first increase in California’s tobacco tax in more than a decade.
The federal tax on cigarettes was boosted by 62 cents April 1, bringing that figure to $1.01.
Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of public policy for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, said the city proposal raises a number of concerns. Businesses already pay taxes that are supposed to pay for city services, such as cleanup, he said. Lazarus suggested the litterer, not the purchaser, should pay the price.
Retailers would be responsible for reporting and remitting the collected fee back to The City on a regular basis. A final study is due Friday.
Pack of cash
Cigarette prices in The City may increase even more if a new fee is implemented.
$6-$7 Average cost per pack in city
33 cents Fee city wants to tack on to price of cigarettes
87 cents Current state tax per pack
$2.37 Possible state tax per pack, if state Senate bill is passed
$1.01 Current federal tax per pack
$44 million Cost per year of picking up litter throughout The City
$10.7 million City’s annual cleanup cost attributed to cigarette butts
jsabatini@sfexaminer.com
