How much do you think Americans spend on tobacco and nicotine products in a year? Well, you’re probably going to be surprised to find out that they actually spend billions of dollars on these products a year. With the amount of money being spent on these products, there are a lot of questions being raised. One of them is where do all of the taxes go? It’s a good question and a question that the state of Colorado is trying to answer through Proposition EE.

Proposition EE is asking voters to add an extra tax or a phased tax increase on tobacco products themselves along with a new tax on any type of nicotine products like e-cigarettes. The extra money that comes from these taxes will go to other sources, primarily schools education. According to the Colorado legislature, the list of services that it will go into is preschool, K-12 programs, rural schools, affordable housing, eviction assistance, tobacco education, and healthcare. All of which would be greatly benefited by the extra funding that comes from this tax increase.

In an article written by The Denver Post, they said “The tax on a pack of cigarettes, currently 84 cents, would increase to $2.64 by 2027. Other tobacco products’ taxes would increase to 22% of the manufacturer’s list price by 2027. Nicotine products would be taxed 62% of the manufacturer’s list price by 2027.” This just gives the basic information as to what the taxes look like now and what they’ll look like by the year of 2027. However, with this proposition comes two sides of a story. There’s who will be affected and who won’t be affected by this new tax increase.

For the people who are in favor of this new tax increase, it’s easy for them. They have people spending money already so for them it means that even more money is going to be coming in. Along with that this new tax increase can possibly even help problems within today’s society like the number of teens vaping and the number of diseases and people walking into hospitals with lung damage. Also, healthcare, tobacco education and prevention, and education will all be given a boost in funding due to the tax increase. There can be a lot of positives to this new tax increase. However, there are a lot of negatives that come with this increase as well.

The one main concern that comes with this tax increase comes from small businesses. Small businesses are now concerned that with this tax increase they are at a higher risk for being shut down while the big tobacco business continues to succeed. Other people say that with the recession going on this is one of the worst times to have a tax increase.

“The state shouldn’t be relying on this source for education funding.” The Denver Post also said while talking about opposed people’s opinions to this proposition. They’re right too. The state shouldn’t be relying on this as a source for education funding. They should find a stronger source to rely on.

Proposition EE will be on the ballot this year. Whether it passes or fails is up to the voters. There are many positives to this proposition however there are also a lot of negatives. All in all, it’s important for people to stay knowledgeable and to understand what they’re going to be approving or denying while voting. Will Proposition EE pass this year’s ballot or will it fail?