PA Cigar Tax Back On

[bigbwalls]

(Sigh)

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, for the second time in as many years, is proposing a first-ever tax on premium handmade cigars for the Keystone State.

Included in Rendell's $29 billion budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year is a 30 percent levy on cigars and Other Tobacco Products (OTP) like smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco.

Pennsylvania is one of only two states that does not tax cigars, with Florida being the other. The Keystone State, though, is the only state in the country that does not tax OTP.

The lax tobacco tax laws mean some of the nation's major cigar distributors, Cigars International, Holt's Cigar Co., and the Tinder Box, call the state home.

"We are going to fight [the tax proposal]," said Robert Levin, president and chief executive officer of Holt's Cigar Co, located in Philadelphia. "We have a good shot at defeating it. There are a lot of Republican senators who oppose any cigar tax."

- http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template/0,2344,3083,00.html

 

[darkman]

unfortunately this seems to be the direction a lot of states are headed.

 

[derfatdutchman]

When will Uncle Ed learn, us bitter Pennsylvania who cling to our guns and religion hate new taxes, epecially taxes on our vices!

Time to write the represenatives again, hopefully it gets squashed again.

 

[tmoney2007]

That sucks... I'd have to march on Austin if they tried that in Texas...

 

[JxBr]

He tries, let's hope he fails. If not I'll be 100% Internet buys.

 

[smokinghole]

NEVER he never did anything logical. Didn't he sell a bunch of snow plows once only to turn around and have to plows again? Like we never get snow here in PA.

I hope the state senate and house can block this long enough for him to be gone and this be his last budget. What he doesn't see is the big picture. If he gets this tax enacted there will be a ton of jobs lost in PA because the big distributors like Holts, CI, Famous and Tinderbox will move to Florida. Hell I heard from last year's debate talks that the big companies already own land in FL ready to move with shovels ready. What a sad pathetic governor he is. The sad thing will be how long the budget goes with out passage this year after the 09/10 budget went over three months past due.

 

[CWS]

Oh man, say it aint so. Holt's, CI, Little Black Cat. Shoot.

 

[tubaman]

This is on TOP of Eddies agenda this year (his final year), hes gonna try everything he can to pass it. The logical thing to do instead of increasing tax's would be to cut spending, but when did Eddie EVER do the logical thing?

Ed Spendell? Cut taxes? No way. My sister was the secretary to the head of the state DER for many years until she retired last year. She had a few interesting stories about Rendell, can't stand the guy. Used to flip him off everyday she drove by the Govenor's Mansion on the way to work!

Good luck boys.

 

[pfm721]

Florida would be very attractive to those companies if that tax passes. Davidoff is already moving to Florida from NY. I'm sure PA companies wouldn't be too far behind.

 

[smokinghole]

You can almost guarantee they already own property in Florida. It's not whether it's attractive it's how fast they could move operations if the tax gets passed. .

 

[vperlman]

That sucks... I'd have to march on Austin if they tried that in Texas...

According to the article, they already tried it in Texas. And succeeded. Better cancel the march on Austin. :wink: