A proposal by Gov. Sam Brownback to raise taxes on cigars, cigarettes, other tobacco products and alcohol has failed.

The Kansas Senate rejected the Republican governor’s proposal, favoring instead a Democratic proposal that would adjust tax rates for certain residents and closing an exemption for businesses registered as an LLC.

Kansas taxes cigars and other tobacco products at 10 percent, and Brownback’s proposal would have doubled that to 20 percent of the wholesale price. For a cigar with an MSRP of $9.50 currently retails for around $10.45 at the register, that would have increased to around $11.40 according to halfwheel estimates.

In 2015, Brownback called for an even larger increase as he sought to raise the tax rate from 10 to 25 percent of the wholesale price.

 

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.