Cigar Tax Dead, Again

As expected, an attempt by the U.S. House (on January 23) to override the President's second veto of an expansion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program failed to gain a two-thirds majority. The proposed SCHIP legislation, if enacted, would have raised the federal excise tax on cigars by up to 6,000%. Although the current SCHIP program was previously extended through March 2009, with no increase in the cigar tax, it is still possible that another attempt to expand the program by raising taxes on tobacco products will be made before that time. However, for the time being, the opprobrious proposal to increase the federal excise tax on cigars by such a ridiculous amount appears to be dead in the water. This week, U.S. cigar smokers have a legitimate reason to light one up and really celebrate!