TAMAQUA -- Negotiations continue as lawmakers work to agree on a budget before Thursday's deadline.
One proposal being considered that would help close the gap is a new tax on tobacco products.
Right now, Pennsylvania taxes $1.60 for every pack of cigarettes.
But under Governor Wolf's proposed budget that's currently being negotiated, that tax would increase to $2.60 per pack.
"We're paying $7 per pack now for cigarettes and the money is supposed to go toward roads and schools and stuff like that," said Stan Kieffer of Summit Hill. "It doesn't go there. I don't know where it goes, but we'll be up to $8 a pack which would be kind of crazy."
According to the Federal Tax Administration, that would move Pennsylvania from the 23rd highest state tax in the country to the 10th highest.
Bert Figueroa of Tamaqua rolls his own cigarettes now because over the years, he's gotten sick and tired of the taxes on cigarettes going up and up.
"It's a lot cheaper," he exclaimed.
But under the proposed budget, there could also be new taxes on things like e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.
For employees at We R' Cigarettes in downtown Tamaqua, it's a waiting game to see if and just how much of a tax hike there could be on cigarettes. Employees believe it all could have a big impact on their bottom line.
But not everyone is against it. Meagan Freeman has been smoking for four years and believes another tax hike could be the thing to help her quit.
"When I first started, it was cheap and affordable for me because I was younger," said Freeman. "But now that they could raise the taxes and I'm seeing how it has harmed me throughout the years, I'm ready to quit!"
The deadline for both sides to pass a state budget, which could include that cigarette tax hike, is Thursday.
