taxes
The Taxman Cometh
by John on Jan.29, 2009, under cigars, taxes
Well, fellow cigar lovers, big brother is at it again. Being a worldly, astute bunch, I’m sure you’ve heard all the news about the S-CHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program)Bill, a piece of proposed legislation ostensibly aimed at providing health care to poor children. President Bush vetoed the bill last year, but with President Obama and a Democratic majority in both House and Senate, it will probably pass this year, despite efforts by the Republican minority to derail it.
A new piece of health care legislation? More spending? Gotta pay for that somehow.
Taxes, that’s how.
As of January 13th, both the IPCPR (http://www.rtda.org/legislation.html) and Stogie Guys (http://www.stogieguys.com/2009/01/01132009-stogie-news-schip-cigar-tax-increase.html) are reporting the following:
Congress has introduced the reauthorization of the SCHIP bill–HR2. The cigar tax proposal is as follows:
52.4 percent on large cigars (most premium cigars follow under this federal classification) with a cap of no more than 40 (forty) cents per cigar. This is far lower than the original proposal from the Senate of $10 per cigar and $3 proposed by the House.
This has been a long, tough fight for all of us, and considering we are still being hit with a tax increase on cigars, our industry feels the proposed 40-cent maximum (cap) is sustainable and certainly better than the original proposals.
We expect HR2 (i.e., S-CHIP) to move smoothly through Congress and will not face defeating opposition. As more news develops we will continue to keep you informed.
Bad news, but not catastrophic. Considering that many of my favorite cigars retail for upwards of $8-10, a 40 cent tax is small, percentage-wise. Worse than the actual dollar cost of the tax, however, is that we are being pushed further into pariah-land. “Tax those damned smokers, they make the little kids sick with their second-hand smoke.” I heartily encourage everyone who reads this rant to stay plugged in to the IPCPR’s legislative action page and write your Congressmen in opposition to this discrimination.
