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In the midst of tight economic times many states are ushering in new or heftier tax increases on tobacco in the hopes of filling gaping holes left in budgets. It’s an easy target, and one that too many cigar aficionados out there are forced to pay up in the name of enjoying one of the world’s most common pastimes. Pennsylvania itself is struggling to recover a missing $1.2 billion budget cash crunch. Still, it’s our take that lawmakers and politicians can find additional revenue streams rather than cashing in on tobacco crops.

Safe for now, Pennsylvania residents can still proudly call their cigar purchases tax-free. The reader may be interested to know that the so-called Keystone State is in fact one of only two states in the U.S. that does not tax cigars, claiming this other title with Florida. Pennsylvania: synonymous with liberty, freedom, and no-cigar tax. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

The City is looking to seal the hole in their budget, estimated at up to $150 million. The proposed tax could raise an additional $6 million  per year. Council members are flirting with the idea of introducing changes to the existing business tax. Currently, Philadelphia business tax has two taxable components: a gross-receipts part, which taxes businesses on their sales, and; a net-income part, which taxes the profits. As it stands, the idea is to raise the gross-receipts rates and do away with net-income rates, which will generate extra revenue for Philly. Council members  argue that this reform will end city-business penalties and hold national retailers accountable.  The current business tax model has received criticism over the years because it taxes businesses on sales regardless of profit. If this new tax reform is passed, Philadelphia can expect to gain an extra $20 million per year. Read more on the new bill here.

How do you feel? Besides lighting a cigar, of course. Do you think that Philadelphia is grasping at straws, or do you feel they have a legitimate City tax fundraiser?

Washington State legislators are pondering two bills that, if passed, could increase taxes on cigars by whopping 500 percent.

HB 2493 and SB 6443 in the State House and Senate respectively would boost the state tax to $3.02 per cigar. Right now, the tax is 50 cents per cigar.

Both bills would also increase taxes on cigarettes and other smoking products. Seattle Times Columnist Danny Westneat says the reason for the increase is to boost state coffers and to curb smoking.

Westneat puts the notion of the proposed cigar tax this way: “. . .even hell has its levels. Charging three bucks a cigar is downright greedy — an affront Dante assigned to hell’s level 4, a notch or two more damnable than where he put the casual sinners (the lusty, the gluttons, probably the smokers).”

Dale Taylor, sales manager at Rain City Cigar in Seattle, put it more simply, telling KIRO Radio that “taxing less than 3 percent of the population is not the answer.”

Based in Fairfax, Virginia, the CRA was formed to keep tabs on the anti-smoking movement, and to organize an ANTI-anti-smoking movement. In other words, the CRA “is a consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works at the local, state, and federal level of government to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts, says their website. Their two-pronged mission involves opposing cigar taxes as well as “restrictive” smoking bans.

If you’re willing to show support for the CRA, you can buy a “I’m with CRA and I VOTE” t-shirt among other schwag, or you can join as a member. Doing so gets you a number of benefits, including invitations to CRA “Member-Only” events, the CRA newsletter and email news alerts, and two premium cigars. Now that’s the best kind of “thanks for joining our organization” benefit you can receive!

The CRA has professional lobbyists in the trenches battling for your rights, and with 48 states that have cigar tax legislation in effect, it looks like they have their work cut out for them.