South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford just vetoed a proposed 50-cent-per-pack increase to his state’s tobacco tax.

As his veto message noted:

I am hereby vetoing H. 3567, R-288, which increases the tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack…I do so because the revenue from this tax increase is dedicated to the start of additional spending on health care – for which there is no additional revenue as these programs grow. In that regard, the bill represents two tax increases – an immediate one with the bill’s passage, and a second over time to pay for these new programs.

These concerns jive with the results of a recent NTU study, which found that taxpayers face a seven out of 10 chance of seeing another net annual tax hike within two years of a cigarette tax increase, in some cases due to increased spending burdens tied to the hike.

You made the right choice for taxpayers, Governor Sanford.