Cuyahoga County Cigarette Tax Revenue Halves as Cleveland Smoking Rate Falls to 19%
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 12
Cuyahoga County Cigarette Tax Revenue Halves as Cleveland Smoking Rate Falls to 19%
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 12
Cuyahoga County’s cigarette-tax revenue for arts groups has fallen by half after Cleveland’s adult smoking rate dropped to 19% from 35% over the past decade.
That tax is a critical funding stream for institutions including Playhouse Square, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Children’s Museum of Cleveland, especially as federal arts funding faces turmoil.
About $250 million has flowed to county cultural organizations through the program, helping lower admission fees, expand programming and support local artists.
The model is unusual—thought to be the only one in the U.S. directing cigarette-tax proceeds to the arts—and its public-health success is now eroding the revenue base it created.
When a 'sin tax' succeeds at improving health, how can cities replace the lost arts funding it once provided?
As federal funding shifts toward 'patriotic art,' what becomes of the local community programs left behind?
Could a basic income for artists, like Ireland's model, be the future for America's struggling creative sector?