Cigar Tax

[Mitch]

One of my local B&Ms have a deal, buy 5 cigars get 1 free. However they still require you to pay tax on the one free cigar. The way there computer works, is they press a button which is tells the computer to give a discount. THe computer than asks the "cashier" which line to discount. After picking the cheapest cigar out of the bunch and entering it, the computer asks to input a tax, if any, which is to be charged on the free cigar. I notice they enter in 63%. Is this the proper tax (in New York) on cigars, or are they just trying to make a few dollars instead of none, while making it look like they arent making any? Another thing I find crazy is that they pick the cheapest cigar to discount. It doesnt matter that Im paying for 15 cigars, most of which are $10+, they still manage to discount the 3 $4 or $5 cigars I have picked out. Thats another story though.

10% federal tax
53.3% New York State tax (I believe it went up to this year from 20%)

As for the buy 5 get 1 free, next time just don't buy cheaper cigars. Keep them all in the same price range so you'll make the most of the discount. They're a business, so I think it's safe to say that their policy regarding the sale is to discount the cheapest cigar.