There won’t be a cigar tax increase in Virginia this year, as the state House Committee on Finance recommended the bill be laid on the table during a voice vote on Wednesday, effectively bringing the proposal to an end. House Bill 1590, which was filed by Rep. K. Rob Krupicka (D-45) sought an increase in the tax rate on tobacco products other than cigarettes, moist snuff and loose leaf tobacco from 10% of the wholesale price to 60%. At the register, a cigar with an MSRP of $9.50, would go from costing an estimated $10.45 to an estimated $15.20, before sales tax. The bill also wanted to increase the tax on loose leaf tobacco, proposing an increase from $0.21 to $1.26 for each loose leaf tobacco single-unit; $0.40 to $2.40 for each loose leaf tobacco half pound-unit; and from $0.70 to $4.20 for each loose leaf tobacco pound-unit. For any other unit, pouch, or package of loose leaf tobacco, the tax would have been by net weight and increased from $0.21 to $1.26 per unit, pouch, or package plus $1.26 for each increment of 4 ounces or portion thereof that the loose leaf tobacco exceeds 16 ounces, an increase from $0.21.
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