Yet another editorial in Pennsylvania laments the fact that a tobacco tax isn’t being used to protect jobs. The number of potential state layoffs has fallen from 1,000 to 200, but this protectionist measure doesn’t seem to be enough, as the writer asks, “Why are we even talking about layoffs?” Here’s the problem: taxing cigars [...]
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The cuffs are coming out. Working together, state and federal authorities have brought the hammer down on a “big non-cigarette tobacco ring” that allegedly skipped out on $35 million in California excise taxes. The investigation took three years and resulted in 15 arrests, not to mention the indictments of three businesses, according to LA Weekly.
Continue reading about Busted! Califoria Tobacco Ring Nailed for $35m in Excise Taxes
There still could be an $850 million gap in the Pennsylvania budget, and lawmakers are looking for a way to plug it. Governor Ed Rendell is using the threat of layoffs, which could reach 700, if the money isn’t found, giving him an easy platform from which to push other taxes, including one on cigars [...]
Continue reading about Pennsylvania Eyes Tobacco in Budget Debate
It would be a mistake to ignore the little guy. In Iowa, smaller, filtered cigars – which look like cigarettes – are providing a bit of tax relief to smokers who have seen their spending creep necessarily higher. They don’t taste like cigarettes, but at prices much lower than traditional cigarettes, these products are becoming [...]
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Because of the 75 percent OTP tax that takes effect August 1, 2010, many tobacconists from New York aren’t making the trek out to New Orleans this year. A source close to the market tells me that the New York cigar shops are focused on buying as much product as they can in July, particularly [...]
Continue reading about EXCLUSIVE: New York Tobacconists Bailing on IPCPR Show
When scanning the cigar-related headlines this morning, I stumbled into a PennLive.com op-ed piece with a wonderfully inflammatory headline: “Pa. backroom deals aid Big Tobacco, harm regular folks.” Unfortunately, the piece consists of nothing but misinformation and flawed assumptions about the cigar industry, cigar taxation and the impact of both on Pennsylvania’s budget. It’s time [...]
Continue reading about Stop the Lies: Cigar Taxes Would Not Have Helped Pennsylvania
My Father Cigars has just announced the appointment of Jose Ortega as Vice President of Sales. Ortega will handle U.S. sales and in-store events, while John Gonzales will turn his attention to international markets – particularly Europe and Asia. This represents a strategic move for My Father, as it sees non-U.S. growth as a way [...]
Continue reading about My Father Cigars Hires VP, New Global Strategy
The well known Club Macanudo in New York City, located in the Upper East Side, is one of the most recent casualties of the New York State cigar tax increase. An email from general manager Mauricio Cordoba went out to their customers this week stating that as a result of such a drastic increase from [...]
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DC lawyers sure love whiskey and cigars. The Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Beam Global, and General Cigar Company is hosting a Scotch, Bourbon, and cigar tasting at the offices of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP. We could use more lawyers to help us rally against all those [...]
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When the stuff we want becomes illegal, it goes underground. You only need to look to Prohibition, an example that’s almost clichéd, to see that in action. And, nearly every discussion about high cigar taxes – in New York and Utah, for example – has included at least a nod to the development of an [...]
