In 2012, Maryland raised taxes on most tobacco products, except premium cigars. Now, as the call for more anti-tobacco programs, premium cigars face a dramatic tax hike. A new bill in the Maryland House of Delegates calls for spending on tobacco education and enforcement to increase from $6 million in 2013 to $21 million by 2016, money that will come from increased tobacco taxes. Currently, premium cigars are taxed at 15 percent of the wholesale price. Under the proposed H.B. 443, cigars under $20 wholesale would be taxed at 95 the wholesale rate, with a cap at $3 in total taxes. Cigars over $20 wholesale would be taxed at the current rate of 15 percent without a cap. The move would increase the price of virtually every premium cigar in the state, but would be particularly damning to cigars priced $6 and below. A cigar like the CAO La Traviata Intrepido, which should sell for around $6.80 under the current laws, would increase to $11.60 under the new law. Higher-priced cigars like the Illusione Epernay Le Voyage, which should sell for around $28.75 under current taxes, would increase as well, but halfwheel estimates the new taxes would only increase prices ...
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