R.J. Reynolds workers to protest the possibility of higher cigarette taxes

(Winston-Salem Journal) - Hundreds of workers from cigarette factories owned by Reynolds American Inc. plan to protest the possibility of higher cigarette taxes.

The Winston-Salem-based company is paying to send busloads of employees to the General Assembly in Raleigh today. Spokeswoman Maura Payne said Reynolds is paying its employees as if they were at work.

The company is trying to prevent lawmakers from raising the state's excise tax on cigarettes to help close a spending gap of more than $4 billion.

Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed increasing the tax by $1 per pack. House and Senate budget plans didn't include that proposal. Congress this year raised the federal cigarette tax by 62 cents a pack.