February 5, 2018 Patrick Lagreid Regulations,  Taxes

Connecticut Governor Proposes Cigar Tax Increase

The governor of Connecticut is calling for a number of tobacco tax increases as part of his budget proposal for FY 2019 that was released on Monday.

While Connecticut taxes tobacco products such as cigars at a rate of 50 percent of the wholesale price, that has been capped at 50 cents per cigar. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed an increase in that cap from 50 cents per cigar to $1.50 per cigar, which is forecast to bring in an additional $2.9 million in revenue.

For a cigar with an MSRP of $9.50, the change would mean that cigar would go from $10.50 to $12.50 by halfwheel estimates.

Additionally, the governor is calling an increase in the cigarette tax from $4.35 per pack to $4.60 per pack, which is said to bring in an additional $20 million. A floor tax on cigarettes would also be implemented to generate approximately $2.8 million, while e-cigaretes would be subject to a tax of 75 percent of the wholesale price, which would bring in $8.5 million.

Malloy proposed a similar increase last year, only to see the tax rate left unchanged when the budget was finalized in the fall.

Connecticut Dannel "Dan" Malloy Taxes
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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.

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