Thursday, March 26 2009
by Thea Neal | The Bay City Times
(M-Live.com)
There's a gray haze inside Timothy's Fine Tobaccos. The scent is heavy, the walls are lined with cigars, and a group of men sit eating Cottage Inn pizza. But it's no boy's club. A woman sits in the corner and a dachshund with a pink collar prances on the floor. Patrons say the place acts as a refuge from work troubles and is great for social networking. At Timothy's, 115 Center Ave., everybody knows your name.
But after April, owner Timothy Socier isn't sure how he'll keep his business from going up in smoke.
On April 1, the tax on a pack of cigarettes will rise from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 per pack across America. And cigarettes aren't the only casualty. All tobacco products, including cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco, rolling tobacco and pipe tobacco will face a tax increase, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Large cigar tax will go up to about 40 cents per cigar from a nickel per cigar, along with other increases for the tobacco industry. The tax money will primarily be spent to expand the low-income children's health insurance, the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Tobacco stores and their customers gird for April 1 tax increase continues...
