Sneaky Cigar Tax – liberals kill tax revenue success story

Sneaky Cigar Tax – liberals kill tax revenue success story
By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

First of all, liberal  lawmakers have violated the public meeting law intentions by stuffing a cigar tax to the Frankentax bill (SB 925) at the last minute with no adequate public hearings during the regular session on this important topic that effects small businesses across the state. Raising taxes in top speed is one way to cheat the public and the media.

In Oregon cigar used to be taxed as a percentage like cigarettes. The result was that it drove sales to the internet and hurt tax revenue. Small businesses lost under this scenario. Oregon tax revenue lost. It was an absolute lose-lose failure. Then lawmakers capped cigar taxes at 50 cents a cigar. Customers returned to stores and revenue went up. Now the state was earning more money not just from the cigar tax revenue but also from the income taxes from owners and employees.

Now, under the anti-public hearing rush to raise taxes the liberal on the House Revenue Committee voted to return to the failed tax model of around 10 years ago.  Only under the rush of blocking the public from a normal public hearing do we get these examples where politicians are killing a verifiable tax revenue success story.   Do they not want tax revenue?

The bill, SB 925 was voted out of committee unanimously by Democrat lawmakers and opposed unanimously by Republican lawmakers.