Tax 25-Cent Rate Goes Into Effect Jan. 1
Buena Vista will be imposing a 25-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes, beginning Jan. 1, bringing the city into line with the rate of neighboring jurisdictions Rockbridge County and Lexington, each of which established such a tax several years ago.
City Council this past Thursday voted 4-3 to establish the tax, which is expected to generate about $50,000 in the second half of the current fiscal year. The budget that was enacted back in the spring for the current fiscal year was predicated on the projected revenue being generated.
Steve Webb made a motion to establish the tax, with Ron Cash providing the second. Webb, Cash, Michelle Poluikis and Mayor Tyson Cooper voted in the affirmative while Melvin Henson, Stanley Coffey and Vice Mayor Danny Staton cast the dissenting votes.
In making the motion, Webb, chair of the budget and finance committee that recommended the tax, said the revenues it would generate would be beneficial for the city’s finances and that he hoped a portion of the proceeds would go to the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization.
The action followed the second reading, read by title only, of the ordinance establishing the tax. The first reading was held Sept. 18 following a public hearing in which no citizens spoke.
Two citizens addressed Council on the issue Thursday, with one advocating in favor of the tax and the other speaking in opposition to the rate that was being proposed.
Cordelia Derr urged Council to adopt the tax, noting the city has been missing out on revenues that neighboring jurisdictions are receiving.
Amy Gilliam called attention to comments made by Cooper and Webb in 2021 when the tax was considered in which they talked about how the tax would disproportionately affect lower income residents. She asked that Council consider adopting a lower rate.
