Ketchikan Borough votes down tobacco tax

KETCHIKAN (AP) — The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly has voted to indefinitely postpone a proposed tobacco tax.

The Ketchikan Daily News reports that the Assembly voted 4-3 Monday against the proposed ordinance, which would have levied a $3-per-pack tax on cigarettes and a 75-percent wholesale tax on other tobacco products including e-cigarettes.

The Assembly introduced the tax Aug. 3 with a 4-3 vote in favor, adding a requirement for a popular vote on the tax during the October local election.

Opponents of the tax had argued that it targeted a specific group of people, as opposed to the bo...