FRANKFORT, KY -- Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) may have left a per-pack excise tax increase on cigarettes out of his proposed budget plan, but that doesn’t mean he’s not  going after cartons.

The Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the governor has proposed a $4 flat tax on every carton of cigarettes sold in the state. Fletcher also says the state is not getting its fair share from the tobacco settlement, noting that it receives “50 cents for every dollar" paid into the fund” while other states get more.

“This is a raw deal for Kentucky. I won't classify it as a tax increase; it is Kentucky getting all that money back. This means we would get an additional--above what we are already getting from the tobacco settlement--$150 million annually,” the governor said.

The additional revenue from the tobacco settlement, according to Fletcher, would increase the state’s debt capacity and allow for more spending on more projects, such as an information technology research center and expanding the Big Bone Lick State Park. He also says the added revenue would allow the state “to ease the tax burden on small businesses.”