Philadelphia to Tax Cigarettes for School Funding

Pennsylvania’s governor will sign measure levying $2 per pack tax to help fund city’s schools.

September 25, 2014

HARRISBURG, Penn. – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said he would sign a bill passed by the state legislature that allows Philadelphia to tax smokers and use the funds for city schools. This week, the state assembly passed the measure authorizing Philadelphia to implement a levy of $2 per cigarette pack to help fill an $81 million budget gap for the school district, the nation’s eighth biggest.

According to a Bloomberg report, Corbett, a Republican running for re-election in November, said in a statement that he intends to sign the bill into law “as soon as it reaches my desk so that the Philadelphia School District has the ability to ensure students have access to a safe and secure learning environment for the remainder of the school year.”

Philadelphia schools opened this month with temporary cuts as officials awaited the authorization. The levy would generate $49 million this fiscal year if implemented by Oct. 1, according to Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William Hite Jr.

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