Florida wants to tax your personal stash
From cigarcyclopedia article yesterday
http://www.cigarcyclopedia.com/webapp/cont...ew/1421/27/1/1/
Quote:
Florida smokers: are you ready to pay taxes on the cigars you already own?
A largely unnoticed, but especially insidious aspect of the Florida Senate Bill 1840, which would impose substantial new taxes on cigars as well as cigarettes, is a “floor tax” which would be imposed not only on wholesalers and retailers, but also on consumers! Section 7(3) of the bill states:
A surcharge is imposed upon the use or storage by consumers of tobacco products in this state and upon such consumers at the rate of $1 for each ounce, with a proportionate surcharge at the same rate on all fractions of an ounce thereof. The surcharge imposed by this subsection does not apply if the surcharge imposed by subsection (2) on such tobacco products has been paid. This surcharge does not apply to the use or storage of tobacco products in quantities of less than 1 pound in the possession of any one consumer.
The proposed tax rate – designed to raise up to $86 million and which would be effective on July 1 – is $1 an ounce. A standard Churchill-sized cigar weighs about 0.55 ounces, so it would be taxed at 55 cents each ($13.75 per box of 25); a trendy 60-ring by 6-inch Toro would bring an additional tax of 60-65 cents per cigar or perhaps $16.25 per box of 25! So for a smoker who owns 10 boxes of cigars, the personal tax on his existing home stock could be $150 to $200 depending on the total weight!
Of course, this tax – on top of the new Federal cigar tax rate of 40.26 cents each – would have to be paid by retailers and distributors. The bill was approved by the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee by a 16-1 vote on April 7.
Florida smokers are asked to contact their state senators and protest this unthinkable tax on cigars and on consumers. Ask for all cigar taxes to be removed from Senate Bill 1840; the contact list for the Florida Senate is here. (We incorrectly reported the proposed tax rate as $1 per pound yesterday; yesterday’s story has been updated to reflect the correct rate and fiscal impact. Our apologies for the error.)
