Voting almost entirely on party lines, the West Virginia Senate passed a new bill that would raise the tax on cigars and other tobacco products from 7 to 12 percent.

S.B. 1005 passed 17-16 with one Democrat voting for the increase and two Republicans voting against it. Interestingly the Senate’s 34th member, left before the vote was complete. Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Uphsur, abstained, though later said he would have voted no, which would have killed the bill.

The bill would also increase the tax on cigarettes by 45 cents per pack.

It’s part of a Special Session designed to address a $270 million budget gap.

While the bill narrowly passed the Senate, it’s expected to face significantly more resistance in the House. A lobbying source told halfwheel some members of the House are aiming to kill the entire bill.

If passed, a cigar with a suggested retail price of $9.50, which currently costs around $10.17, would be increased to $10.64 per halfwheel estimates.

 

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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.