Georgia's cigarette tax would be paid by the poor

As a Georgia taxpayer I resent Gov. Sonny Perdue's plan to balance the state budget on the people who can least afford it - the poor. As the majority of smokers are in the middle- and lower-income brackets, this tax plan will be paid for by them.

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If the plan goes through as proposed, the average smoker smoking one pack a day will pay over $167 per year in additional taxes, and a two-pack smoker will pay over $335 in additional taxes per year for his habit. I haven't even seen how they plan to tax alcohol.

If the state is that destitute, why doesn't the state add a $5 surcharge to tax bills for property appraised under $100,000 and a $10 surcharge for property valued over $100,000? That would appear to be more equitable to all Georgians. We all know landlords will pass on the hike to their tenants, so all will be paying - not just the poor.

All Georgians benefit from the programs that are funded by the state budget; all Georgians should help pay for them - not just the poor with habits that are politically correct to pick on.

Michael Bailey, Augusta