Sunday, July 19 2009
By Heather Haddad, Media Coordinator, TXCMA
Austin, TX -– The Texas Cigar Merchants Association (TXCMA) is outraged that HB 2154, a bill relating to physician education loan repayment, also contains a clause raising the tax on loose tobacco (pipe, smokeless and roll your own) by 325%. The bill, sponsored by Juan Hinojosa (D) was co-sponsored by Rodney Ellis (D), a vocal supporter of HB 5, a smoking ban that failed to pass this year.
The Texas Cigar Merchants Association, which works to protect Texas tobacco retailers and their consumers, believes that Texans were duped. The bill, as it was originally written, contained no tobacco tax. The tax was added in on May 28th, three days before the end of the session on June 1. The bill becomes law on September 1, 2009.
Kent Pennington, President of the Texas Cigar Merchants Association says, "Slipping a tobacco tax into an educational loan bill is sneaky and duplicitous. Texans were not informed about this tax and were not given the opportunity to voice their opinions about it. In an economy like this, raising taxes on a product like pipes, which is primarily used by retirees depending on social security, is an unnecessary burden."
Kyle Haass, owner of Pipeworld in Round Rock, Texas says the tax will have a "huge impact" on his business as consumers will turn to mail order as the tax increase will render his prices uncompetitive. "Instead of spending their money in Texas, consumers will go out of state. It's an unfair playing field." Haass believes.
The Texas Cigar Merchants Association is a non-profit comprised of retail tobacconists state-wide and can be found online at http://www.txcma.org.
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