Obama Puts Federal Tobacco Tax Hike On the Table Again

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal tobacco tax is once again under the executive microscope.

In his proposed $4-trillion budget for fiscal year 2016, President Barack Obama has called for the federal levy to nearly double to help fund health insurance for low-income children, according to The Associated Press.

Under his plan, the federal cigarette tax would rise from just under $1.01 per pack to about $1.95 per pack. Taxes on other tobacco products also would increase.

The revenue would provide financing to pay for the Children's Health Insurance Program through 2019. The federal-state program serves about 8 million children, and funding technically expires Sept. 30.

The tobacco tax hike would take effect in 2016, the news outlet reported.

A similar measure was included in Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2014. That proposal called for a 94-cent levy increase on cigarettes, with a comparable raise in the levy on all tobacco products, to help fund pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-old children, as CSNews Online previously reported. The move ultimately fell flat.