The latest attempt to cap the tax on cigars in the state of Hawaii is advancing through the state’s senate.
S.B. 2843 passed the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee and is expected to receive a vote in the full Senate later this week.
Currently, Hawaii taxes cigars at 50 percent of their wholesale price. A cigar with an MSRP of $9.50 would drop from its current pre-sales tax price of $14.25 to a much more modest $10.50 by halfwheel estimates.
Attempts to cap Hawaii’s cigar tax have been an annual effort for the last handful of years. Last year’s attempt passed the Senate but failed to get approval by the Hawaii House of Representatives.