South Dakota’s IM 25 Defeated
South Dakota voters rejected Initiated Measure 25 (IM 25), a $35 million tax increase. IM 25 would have increased the excise tax on cigarettes from 76.5 mills to 126.5 mills, or about $1.53 per pack of 20 cigarettes to $2.53 per pack of 20 cigarettes. The measure would have also increased the excise tax on wholesale tobacco products from 35 percent to 55 percent of the purchase price.
Earlier this year, the South Dakota Legislature rejected a similar proposal (H.B. 1274), voting overwhelmingly to defeat it in committee.