Revenue from inhalation-delivered vaping products, a new tax in 2021, continues to be substantially higher than initially expected, the economists wrote. In the first year of taxation, the amount actually collected was three times what was expected.
The state will not tax e-cigarettes until 2020.
Measure 108 of 2020 reportedly changed that, including a slew of new policies aimed at reducing the harmful effects of tobacco use — most notably a $2 per pack tax increase.
The measure, which passed 66 percent to 34 percent, also includes a 65 percent tax on the wholesale price of vaping products.
In October 2020, just before the election, the Office of Legislative Revenue compiled an estimate of how much the new e-cigarette tax would increase and put it at an estimated $10 million a year.
In 2021, the state earned nearly $30 million.
It's not unusual for new taxes to have significantly lower projected revenues, especially if they deal with new products (like e-cigarettes) or new legal products (like recreational marijuana), which also performed significantly better than expected in earlier years.