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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MAY/JUNE 2015
NEWS & TRENDS
MAY/JUNE 2015
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TOBACCOBUSINESS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
trenchmarketing
BYMICHAELGELFAND
B
efore tobacco became his bread and butter, Tom
Foster was training at the California Culinary
Academy tobecomeaprofessionalchef.Back then,
he looked forward to thedaywhenhe’dhavea restaurantof
his ownwhere he could play tastemaker for his customers
and prepare a sensory experience thatwould exceed their
expectations every time they came in. But dreams and
realityoftenmix likeoil andwater, and Foster soon realized
thatbeingacookmeanthewouldnever see the frontof the
house—let aloneget theopportunity towatch them eat the
foodheprepared.
Disillusioned, Foster souredon hisdreamofprofessional
cooking and left California to return home to Kansas City,
Fidel’scigar Shop dug itself
out of an early hole created by a
contentious store name—now
it’s a thriving boutique cigar
hotspot on thekansascity scene.
Facing the Music
Cigarette and Tobacco Tax Report
States continue to propose tax hikes, but many are shot down.
In the first quarter of 2015, 19 state
legislatures were pondering bills to
raise cigarette and/or tobacco taxes.
While 23 states introduced such bills
last year, only Vermont actually enact-
ed a tax increase on cigarettes of 13
cents per pack.
The following is a look at some of
the bills currently being considered at
press time:
Alabama:
Increase cigarette tax by
32.5 cents per pack (House Bill 45)
California:
Increase the cigarette
tax by $2 per pack (Senate Bill 591)
Kansas:
Increase the cigarette tax
by $1.50 per pack and raise the tobac-
co products excise tax to 25 percent
(House Bill 2306)
Kentucky:
Add 60 cents to the
state’s cigarette tax rate and also in-
crease the tobacco tax rate to 40 per-
cent (House Bill 132)
Maryland:
Raise the cigarette tax by
$1 per pack and increase the tobacco
tax rate to 76 percent on most tobac-
co products except premium cigars,
which would remain at 15 percent
(Senate Bill 37 and House Bill 108)
Mississippi:
A 50 cent per-pack in-
crease in the cigarette tax rate (House
Bill 81)
New Jersey:
Tax little cigars at the
same tax rate assessed on cigarettes
(Assembly Bill 1308); tax tobacco
products at 90 percent of the whole-
sale price and increase the tax on
moist snuff to $2.25 per ounce (As-
sembly Bill 1944 and Senate Bill 1213)
New York:
Raise the cigarette tax by
$1.65 per pack (Senate Bill 2687); raise
the tax on moist snuff to the higher of
95 percent or $3.63 per ounce (Senate
Bill 702)
North Dakota:
Increase the ciga-
rette and little cigar tax by 44 cents per
pack and raise the tobacco products
tax to 50 percent; increase the tax on
moist snuff to $2.72 per ounce and the
chewing tobacco tax to 73 cents per
ounce (House Bill 1421)
Ohio:
Increase the cigarette tax by
$1 per pack and increase the tobacco
product tax to 60 percent (House Bill
64)
Oklahoma:
Raise the cigarette tax
by $1 per pack and impose an ad-
ditional tax on all tobacco products
equal to 100 percent of the current tax
rate (House Bill 1719)
Oregon:
Raise the cigarette tax by $1
per pack (House Bills 1719 and 2555);
increase the cigarette tax by $1.25 per
pack (House Bill 2066); increases the
current cigarette tax from $1.31 per
pack to $3.13 per pack (House Bill
2166); raise the cigarette tax by $1.50
per pack and increase the OTP tax to
81.25 percent (House Bill 3053)
Pennsylvania:
Enact a new tax
on tobacco products at 65 cents per
ounce (House Bill 199)
Rhode Island:
Raise the cigarette
tax by $1 per pack (Senate Bill 375 and
House Bill 5732)
Vermont:
Raise the cigarette and lit-
tle cigar tax by $1.25 per pack and in-
crease the tax on moist snuff to $3.33
per ounce (House Bill 265)
Virginia:
Raise the cigarette tax by
$1.70 per pack, the tax on roll-your-
own tobacco to 60 percent, and the
tax on loose-leaf tobacco to $1.26 for
every four ounces (House Bill 1590)
Washington:
Raise the cigarette tax
by 50 cents per pack (Senate Bill 5729)
and raise the OTP tax to 110 percent
(Senate Bill 5808)
West Virginia:
Increase the tax on
cigarettes by 50 cents per pack; in-
crease the tax on cigarettes by $1 per
pack and raise the tobacco products
tax rate to 50 percent (House Bills
2559 and 2634, Senate Bill 534)
Wyoming:
Raise the cigarette tax
by 65 cents per pack and increase the
OTP tax rate to 46 percent (House Bill
173)