The Cost To Light May Go Up In Georgia

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The Cost To Light May Go Up In Georgia (Added: March 09, 2011)

The cost to light up, may go up. Georgia lawmakers are proposing an 84 percent tax increase on cigarettes. The possible tax hike does not only affect smokers, but businessman here in Georgia. WJBF New (more)

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By: Jillian Benfield | WJBF News Channel 6
Published: March 09, 2011

Augusta, GA --

When you're at a convenience store, you just buy the soda or candy, you don't think about the process it takes to get there.

What you don't see...like NFL teams negotiating for free agents, is store owners negotiating with vendors to get the best products for the best price.

And, as there is right before a football draft...there is a lot of talk going on. The buzz is about taxes...and in this game, there are also winners and losers.

Lloyd Axon, Georgia convenience store owner: "You started out with a business license and a sales tax number and the motto was, 'let's do business.'"

Georgia convenience store owner Lloyd Axon has played the game for 33 years...and sometimes he feels like lawmakers are blocking his offense.

Axon: "Now, you can't do business unless you buy permit after permit, license after license, they are suppressing the small businessman."

Now, there's another thing lawmakers are adding to their playbooks...a possible hike on the cigarrette tax.

Last year South Carolina passed a 50 cent increase...making the price per pack higher than Georgia's.

Now, Georgia is proposing a 31 cent increase...that would once again make Georgia's price higher than South Carolina's.

Joel Jolley, South Carolina convenience store owner: "Not only do Georgia retailers have to worry about people stoppin buying cigarettes all together, but they have to worry about them driving across the river to buy in South Carolina."

That's what Edgefield convenience store owner, Joel Jolley has been dealing with for the past year.

Jolley: "It definitely dinged us when South Carolina went up in the tax of cigarettes."

But, the playing field could change. A win for Joel's team, a loss for Lloyd's.

I spoke with a convenience store distributor. He said his business in South Carolina has decreased by 22 percent since South Carolina's tax increased. Even though smokers, distributors, and store owners are generally against this tax, the other side to this is all the revenue it could generate...it could mean an extra $114 million dollars a year for the cash strapped state of Georgia.