A bill in Mexico that would have tripled the state’s tax on cigars has been defeated.
The New Mexico House Taxation and Revenue Committee voted against S.B. 231, which would have increased the taxes on cigars and other tobacco products from 25 to 76 percent of the wholesale price. A cigar with a MSRP of $9.50 likely retails for around $11.88 before sales tax in New Mexico. Had S.B. 231 passed, that would have risen to $16.72 before sales taxes.
S.B. 231 was passed by the New Mexico Senate earlier this month.
If passed, New Mexico would have had the second highest tax rate of any state after Utah, which currently taxes tobacco products at 86 percent of the wholesale price.