Retailers say higher taxes will cost them customers

rrstar.com has a story on how retailers are reacting to all the tobacco price hikes. Old news I know but thought it was interesting.

Dennis Lambert, owner of the Tinderbox, 2217 N. Perryville Road, fears that the taxes will eliminate much of the demand for the top-shelf cigars that make up 80 percent of his business. Excises for hand-rolled cigars, now at 5 cents a cigar, could rise to as much as $10 under a U.S. Senate bill.

“Cigars for most of my customers are a reward,” Lambert said. “They work hard all week and on the weekend they want to sit down on their deck and enjoy a cigar and a glass of wine. They’re just going to cut back on it.”

The federal government is looking to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, a government coverage plan for uninsured children who don’t qualify for Medicaid.

This is a follow up on my post Senate Finance Committee to Increase Tobacco Tax