I agree, this cigar tax is just stupid. It's going to reduce tax revenue, ruin the cigar manufacturers, and ruin the cigar shops from the small local ones to major retailers like cigar.com. I guess I'll start having to make yearly trips to Canadia for my smokes. It's only a couple hours drive northwards. They've got lots of stores right on the border, I'm sure tobacconists will pop up left and right after this.
it will not accomplish its stated goal of generating more revenue
That is incorrect. Considering the current cap is 5 cents per cigar, and the new tax would be up to $3 per cigar, we would need to see a 98% drop in cigar sales in order to not make any revenue. I would say that's highly unrealistic. So how much do you expect cigar sales to drop? Let's say that cigar sales will drop drastically -- like 15%. We would still see an increase of 5,000% in the annual cigar tax revenue. I'd say that's pretty solid.
I don't think it's a good idea, I just wouldn't mind quite so badly if it were a relatively small raise in taxes. I'd still be unhappy about it, but not enough to stop smoking.
Obama can't pass this thing on his own. We could try writing our senators about this. Maybe Ahnold would get involved, he likes his cigars too.
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