March 4, 2014 (Washington, D.C.) — The White House released its annual President’s Budget on March 4, 2014, which serves as the Administration’s starting point when negotiating with Congress as they begin the Appropriations and budgeting debates for FY2015. IPCPR does not expect the proposal to move forward through Congress, but this does demonstrate why we need to remain vigilant on all issues important to the tobacco industry. The proposal would increase the tax on cigarettes from just under $1.01 per pack to about $1.95 per pack and increase all other excise taxes on tobacco products and cigarette papers and tubes by roughly the same proportion beginning in 2015. Excise tax rates would be increased for inflation annually. The proposal also includes a one-time floor stocks tax that generally applies to tobacco products, cigarette papers, and tubes that are held for sale beginning on January 1, 2015. Because large cigars are taxed as a percentage of price, rather than per cigar, administering a floor tax on them would be difficult, so large cigars are exempted from the floor tax. No other tobacco products are exempted from the floor tax. The Administration also proposes to clarify that roll-your-own tobacco includes any ...
↧