Enjoying the lovely weather this weekend, I found myself smoking a cigar. It's a habit I picked up from my high-school graduation party when a friend's dad gave me a Cuban as a present. I smoked half of it because he practically yanked it out of my mouth. "Anymore than that and you'll feel sick later," he told me. He was wrong. I felt sick from just that half -- but not enough to give up the practice.
Back then cigars were rare treats, but for the last couple of years they sat in a sweet spot. Web sites were selling good stogies starting at a buck a piece, and the smoking taxes that affected cigarettes largely left cigars alone.
Now that's changed. On February 5, President Barack Obama finally signed into law the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, which gives 8 million kids health care coverage (good thing!) while raising taxes on cigars. (Not so good thing.)
For a while, SCHIP had the cigar industry in a tizzy.
When the cigar tax was first proposed, it would allow the government to
add a $10 tax to each cigar. Not each box but each individual cigar.
While that seemed outrageous, there appeared to be little that cigar manufacturers
could do about it. As the president of the Cigar Association of America
said, "How do you oppose a sin tax Congress has rigged to help sick kids?"
Recognizing how big a black market a $10 tax would create, Congress pared it down to a $3 tax when Bush vetoed the bill. Many people thought this was
where the tax would stay in the new version. Anticipating the bill's
signing, I bought two boxes of cigars. With 20 cigars each,
I figured I had just saved myself well over $100. The only problem
being it will take over two years to smoke 40 cigars.
My preparations were pretty much worthless. The final bill Obama signed into law caps cigar taxes at 40 cents per stogie and life goes on for the cigar business. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with two boxes of cigars. But if smoking more cigars means more weekends like this one, I won't mind one bit.
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The journey of the trip was serious on cigar dinners and other enjoyment activities Montecristo cigars, wine, dinners are good relaxing tools for politicians like him who most of the time thinks about him selves.
Thank you Mr. Obama. Earlier it was $10 per cigar for tax. After that it was reduced to $4 per cigar. Now it has been reduced to 40 cents per cigar. Incredible! It will help the cigar smokers a lot.
Its good for the Cigar smokers that the tax has been decreased to 40 cents per stogies. And if you want to have the genuine cigars then just go to their websites and order your favorite cigars and also with some of the companies you will get that without any shipping cost. Isn't it great?
"Yet the federal government continues to subsidize some of the biggest companies in America. Boeing, Xerox, IBM, Motorola, Dow Chemical, General Electric, and others have received millions in taxpayer-funded benefits through programs like the Advanced Technology Program and the Export-Import Bank. In addition, federal crop subsidy programs continue to fund the wealthiest farmers."
To the tune of $92 billion a year. There's a place to actually get some money back that could be used for other things -- like SCHIP or (dare I say it) paying down the national debt.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com...
I have been in the handmade cigar business for over forty years and am glad I am on the back nine.The future for this industry looks grim.Drinkers should be the next target,their habit kills other people.
Trying to fund kid's health on a sin tax for cigars? Something stinks here and it's not Grandpas White Owl. Next go around, they will realize this isn't generating enough revenue, and then raise the taxes again, and more smokers will quit or smoke less, and they'll raise taxes again until the cycle does nothing more than make criminals out of smokers. Of course, I already feel like one because I can't smoke at the bar, can't smoke in the park. I don't smoke in the house because I have a wife and kids. I'll be in the mancave out in the garage if someone needs me.
An interesting fact that was not widely advertised for the SCHIP bill: in order to fund the increase in socialized health care it promises, 22 million new smokers need to be recruited. Because the tripling of the cigarette tax will likely cause more people to quit (the usual result of increasing these taxes), the funding for SCHIP by tobacco taxes will likely fall short. Instead of dealing with the fact that they have brought in less money and scale back the program accordingly, the socialists in Congress will look for revenue sources elsewhere. So...just because they didn't tax your pet vice to fund this travesty (health care for "poor children" that provides care for "kids" up to age 30 with family incomes up to $80K), that doesn't mean they won't come after your money later.
The SCHIP expansion is fully funded by Federal Tobacco taxation. Manufactured cigarettes are going up $0.62 per pack to $1.01 in Federal tax. The tobacco industry most hurt will be the small producers and distributors that provide loose tobacco to customers that make their own cigarettes because of cost savings and to get away from the FSC paper in the Manufactured Cigarettes. Loose tobacco will go from the current Fed tax of $1.10/lb to $24.78/lb, a 2,159% Tax increase [that's not a typo]
This will hurt the cigar business, not kill it but hurt it. I'm no businessmen but a hard working class guy just trying to support his family. I enjoy cigars as much as 5 per week. Depends on the week.
Do remember that it mainly targets cigarettes, which is getting nailed with a 62 cent per pack tax.
Also, you think of cigar smokers as businessmen who light them with Benjamins. Not so, as I'm a 19 year old full time student who makes barely any money but still smokes.
I'm glad to hear if won't effect you, but as a person who's family relies on the industry this hurts. Who knows, maybe my kids will be eligible for SCHIP when I lose my job?
It will take you 2 years to smoke 40 cigars? On days that the Outlaw Cigar Co has events, I'm smoking 3-5 cigars just that day, on top of the usually daily habit I have.
It's more expensive than drugs but believe me, it's well worth it.
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