Your town could be next!

havanaal

NY cigar tax now in effect--75%. My favorite B&M is selling off their remaining stock, future is in doubt, but the owner tells me he doesn't expect to make it. Prices are outrageous, as one might expect, but I'm continuing to support them even though I feel it's futile. Yes, New York is run by idiots who think putting people out of business is a great way to raise revenue, but no one is immune from this sort of taxation. The good news is that we can still smoke them outdoors on public property for now. But in NYC that too is threatened activity.

camgfs

I feel your pain. Here in Canada, the combination oftaxes and duties on tobacco products make a stick worth up to 5 TIMES it's U.S. value. A $5.00 stick in the U.S. will sell for around $25.00 here. I'm serious!!!
I wish I could support my local B&M, I wish the tax was only 75%, and as for smoking in public outdoor places, it's already banned in many cities around here, and may be banned here soon as well.

I hope they don't carry it too far in NYC, but if they follow the trend, it will only get worse, not better. Good luck.

Joeyjoe21_8

bummer....but also when NYC got their new governor, didnt he roll out a bunch of new laws within the first 72 hours he was in office there...i know one law was to stop graffiti was the ban all sales of spray paint cans within New York? but hey, when they start losing taxes and cant figure out why they are so over their budget at end of year, congrats, the people will just get a new tax lol....

kuzi16

i love out of control power hungry government.

Redtailhawkoz

kuzi16:

i love out of control power hungry government.

Its ABSURD... Thank god Our Current Gov is a Cigar SMoker... WHo knows what wil happen when it changes hands here!

nightmaremike31

Too late, already happened. I spent a lot of time with the owner and his peeps. They were really awesome and crazy nice.

Jeanie's Smoke Shop:

Jeanie's Smoke Shop

Historic shop closes before July 1 tobacco hike: Jeanie's Smoke Shop shuts down June 30. The owner has no immediate plans, other than to save some of the historic memorabilia, such as the life-sized Punch wood sculpture, signifying a cigar manufacturer that first registered its brand in 1840, and a Utah cigar box, recalling the days when dozens of factories in Salt Lake City manufactured the smokes.

...see, Utah used to be cool.

Jeanie's:

Cigars - The tax increases from 35 percent of the manufacturers' sale price to 86 percent, making the rate the second highest in the nation.

Now Utah is the second highest D-Bag in the Nation.

Russ55

Redtailhawkoz:

kuzi16:

i love out of control power hungry government.

Its ABSURD... Thank god Our Current Gov is a Cigar SMoker... WHo knows what wil happen when it changes hands here!

I think it's going to be time for me to move out of Ca soon. It's just getting too ridiculous. I've lived here my whole life, but I'm really starting to hate it, and I don't use that word lightly.

sightunseen

WA rate is 95%, with a $0.65/cigar cap. Explains why there are so few B&Ms around here.

stephen_hannibal

Just saw a thing on the news about the feds trying to impose tax on online purchases too. Hope it gets shot down. That'll sink the economy even further.

zeebra

Yes, all these taxes are ridiclious! I think we should all together, not just the cigar community, but the entire USA stop paying taxes until we take over the government. What happened to, "by the people, for the people".

They took our tax dollars and gave it to their buddies, I'm talking billions of dollars! They gave them to companies who were paying their CEO's and other employees high in rank crazy amounts of bonuses and stuff while the company is not even making profit. Oh, let raise the taxes on all small businesses and give it to these bigger guys!!!!!!!!! Now try to get a loan for your business for $100K, they will laugh in your face!

I just cant believe we live like this now! The guys who run our offices and head of states, just ........

I cant continue!

I'm considering moving to Cayman Islands or some where else where the people that work hard are getting raped paying nothing but taxes!!!!!

Feel for you local B&M, but in reality, there are going to be tons more doing/being forced to do the same soon.

stephen_hannibal

You know the sad part is this is a growing trend... if more and more places do it, it will not only destroy the community we love but the economic structure of places like Nicaragua.

havanaal

Consider this quote: "No state tax authority can absorb the administrative expense of processing sales tax returns filed by someone who placed a $50 order with an out-of-state merchant,” says Pete Sepp, vice president for policy and communications with the National Taxpayers Union in Alexandria, Va., explaining the conundrum for the states. Yes, we're safe for now. How the hell is a state going to enforce a tax on a purchase made through an offshore server? (which could have come from Mongolia, for all they know) They want our money desperately, but tracking down people across international communication and banking networks in order to shake them down for pennies is dumb business, even for government. The fact they keep proposing such tax schemes shows how utterly stupid our elected officials are.

betasynn

Unfortunately, the issue here is a brilliant political scheme. Insofar as New York is concerned, it's a fantastic political move in an election year because you get your name on a bill. Even if it fails (and speaking to the New York Tobacconists' Association, it will) an opponent can't bring it up in argument, because the people who voted it can retort "Can you put a price on your health? On your CHILDRENS health?" Because somehow, it's always about the children. It's brilliant because if you then go on to say "well actually, the bill LOST a million dollars in the first month alone," all the public (the bunch of sheep that we are) would hear is "*** your children."

The real problem is, as a public, we vote for these people, and trust them to follow through in their promises and represent your beliefs. They should be asking what to do and making decisions based on the pulse of their people, not out of their own personal beliefs. We also trust what they say to be true. We trust them to make the right decisions, despite the fact that time and time again, they do not. I hate that they can spend millions of dollars they don't have, and not go to jail for it.

Getting rid of party politics would help. The biggest thing we can all do is get active in addressing the public outside of the cigar smoking community to let them know what these taxes do to them. It'll hurt education, public services (police, fire, etc) and all other benefits derived from the state. They need to know it isn't about smoking, it's about money.

vegassparky

I am so glad i live in nevada. it maybe hotter than hell here, but well worth it.

wwestern

The biggest thing we can do here is to stop voting who caters to us and start to vote who will be less oppressive. People who think the government and your health have anything to do with eachother need to go because they've obviously neglected the constitution, also the same with how you raise your children. Also people who think tax is a way to spread the wealth (which is anyone who is for these kind of rediculous high tobacco tax).

wwhwang

camgfs:

I feel your pain. Here in Canada, the combination oftaxes and duties on tobacco products make a stick worth up to 5 TIMES it's U.S. value. A $5.00 stick in the U.S. will sell for around $25.00 here. I'm serious!!!
I wish I could support my local B&M, I wish the tax was only 75%, and as for smoking in public outdoor places, it's already banned in many cities around here, and may be banned here soon as well.

I hope they don't carry it too far in NYC, but if they follow the trend, it will only get worse, not better. Good luck.

Ah crap that sucks. Means I probably won't be able to hit ajy B&Ms soon. Probably won't even be able to smoke in my new back yard, huh?

camgfs

Check the bylaws for your new home town. I know that in Barrie Ontario, there is no smoking in any public place, including parks and outdoor recreation areas. That includes public walking trails, beaches, outdoor concerts....every place except your own outhouse....unless other people use it, lol.

wwhwang

camgfs:

Check the bylaws for your new home town. I know that in Barrie Ontario, there is no smoking in any public place, including parks and outdoor recreation areas. That includes public walking trails, beaches, outdoor concerts....every place except your own outhouse....unless other people use it, lol.

Not so sure what the law is, cam. The "about Kitchener" webpage says smoking is illegal in public establisments. However, there's a lot of other articles that are talking about banning smoking in private homes and apartment areas because smoke can "crawl under doors, cracks in the walls, come down chimneys, through open windows, and even go through plumbing". This makes no sense. There's even talk of banning junk food in Hamilton and Kingston because they're "bad for your health". WTF is this? The anti-smoking morons are acting like cigar and cigarette smoke is the boogey man trying to kill people in their sleep.

Amos Umwhat

I recently stumbled across a new (in my area) radio program called Free Talk Live. I love these guys. One of the things that they suggest is that if five percent of the public were to actually engage in active civil disobedience, the government would not be able to handle the overload. It's about time to live in a free country again. The eternal con game that government plays is to convince the people that there is something to fear that only they can "save" us from. Well, we have met the enemy, and he is us. I was hopeful for Ross Perot, I've been hopeful for Tea Party, we the people are like the Ents in Lord of the Rings, if we ever wake up, there will be no way to stop us from taking our country back.