Remember that entry I posted on the little cigar brouhaha over in New York? Well, I do not live over there but I am glad to share with you guys the news that the news that this piece of legislation has been shot down. Michael Moretti over at Cigar Aficionado reports:
The basic axiom in the government taxing of rolled tobacco seems to be that you can judge a product by its wrapper. But that is not always clear, as was seen in the recent haggling over how to define little cigars in the New York State tax code.
It was a close call this month for “little cigar†smokers in the Empire State, as cigar and legislative officials struggled to draw a line between “tobacco products†and “cigarettes.†The price on little cigars in New York could have skyrocketed with the passing of the 2008–2009 $121.7 billion state budget, which would have classified “little cigars†as cigarettes in the tax code and levied a new tax on little cigars, raising the price considerably. But in the end, the new definition of little cigars was repealed, and the petite sticks dodged a bullet.
As you can see, little cigars are to remain under the classification “cigars†and not “cigarettes.†Though the definition does not really change anything when it comes to what the little cigars really are, it does make a huge difference for those who smoke them in terms of price. I am sure that our fellow cigar aficionados in New York are quite happy with the turn of events.