Date: November 5, 2024
Source: Cleveland SCENE
Abstract:
Residents on Tuesday passed Issue 55 by a wide margin, with about 72% supporting a tax hike on cigarettes and tobacco products to continue to fund the arts through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
The independent government entity will now receive more money from the revised tax—three-and-a-half cents more per smoke, up from its current tax rate of one-and-a-half cents — to turn over to artists and arts groups through grants. With smoking rates decreasing, annual funding had dipped from $20 million to $10 million over the past two decades.