D.C. to enact $2 cigarette tax

D.C. will soon join Maryland with a $2 sales tax, the sixth-highest rate in the country, on every pack of cigarettes, generating as much as $12.5 million more for city coffers.

The $2 tax, double the current charge, will take effect Oct. 1. The District’s rate is still puny compared with other large jurisdictions, such as New York City, which levies $2.75 per pack on top of New York state’s $1.50 per pack. But it far eclipses Virginia, home to Philip Morris, which charges 30 cents per pack.