A Minnesota state representative will once again try to score a win for cigar smokers by cutting the state’s cigar taxes by $3 per cigar.

Currently, the state’s tobacco tax sits at 95% of the wholesale price, though it is capped at $3.50 per cigar. State Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) would like to see that cap dropped to $0.50 per cigar. He is hoping to accomplish it by way of HF 123, which he introduced earlier this week and has since been referred to the House Committee on Taxes.

The bill would also drop the phrase “hand-rolled” from the definition of a cigar, leaving it defined as “any cigar that is hand-constructed and hand-rolled, has a wrapper that is made entirely from whole tobacco leaf, has a filler and binder that is made entirely of tobacco, except for adhesives or other materials used to maintain size, texture, or flavor, and has a wholesale price of no less than $2.”

The change would be felt at the register on practically every premium cigar; in the case of a cigar with a suggested retail price of $9.50, the price at the register would go from $16.50 to $10, before local sales taxes were added.

This is the second consecutive session that Nash has introduced such legislation; in the 2015-2016 legislative session, he introduced HF 1544, which sought the same decrease in the cigar tax. Neither that bill nor its Senate companion made it out of its chamber’s committee on taxes.

The bill seeks an effective date of July 1, 2017. A companion bill for the Minnesota State Senate has not yet been introduced.

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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 MLB.com, 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.