So if those are the increases, then we can expect to pay about double the increases (turnkey) by the time it reaches the consumer. Right?
As far as I can tell, this is a "wait and see" kind of thing. The two retailers I've actually spoken to don't even know at this point.
I wouldn't be surprised if what you are saying is true, though. It's really not that much money when you think about it. I take offense to the whole plan, but that's neither here nor there at this point.
I will disagree. Its a huge ass amount of money when you start running the numbers. I enjoy my pipes as the tobacco is a lot cheaper than most of the cigars I smoke. I'm on that nice little fixed income that the Government and the Veteran's Administration allows me to get each month. Sure, if you can't afford it, then you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.
Its not that I can't afford it, but I don't have the luxury in giving away cash either. Lets put this in perspective. Say you smoked 8 cigars a week and there is 52 weeks in a year. At $0.40 extra a cigar, you are looking at 416 cigars in a year with an extra $166.40 out of your pocket. And that is the minimum increase as the extra $0.40 will be added and then the rest of the taxes applied. So its more than just $0.40 extra a cigar.
Now..you collect cigars. Lets say you buy 3 boxes a month. One month you score 3 full boxes of Opus X. They are the following:
Perfecxion No.5.........................4.875 x 40...................$ 8.00 / $336.00 (42)
xXx ("Power Ranger")................4.625 x 49...................$ 9.25 / $388.50 (42)
Double Robusto.........................5.75 x 52....................$12.75 / $602.70 (42) **
The other 11 months, you get 3 boxes per month and each is a 25 count stick box. So the 11 months is a total of 825 cigars and thus a minimum increase of $330 while the 3 boxes of Opus brings in a small increase of just $50.40 and this means a min increase of over a period of a year...$383.49 . Now this doesn't account for city, state, and federal taxes hit at the register.
Now lets take said numbers and increase it. Lets way there is 1 million people that smoke cigars and collect. They all manage to buy the same amount of cigars. With the numbers above, 1 million x $383.49 = $383,400,000 just in taxes off cigars in 1 year.
Yeah, you are right. Its not much at all. If you bought that many over a course of a year, you could pick up a nice box of cigars and then some. Now if you are me, you are talking about paying an increase of $1000 just for this year. Which will make ordering from other places worth the risk. This of course doesn't account for when they see this bill flop and doesn't support the SCHIP, then they will be forced to raise the taxes even more. Too the point you will either quit, grow your own tobacco, take the shaft and still buy, or finally, order over seas. Which will then lead to the intervention of the government monitoring your Credit card purchases and that will finally end up at where the government monitors all mail. Whether it be Fed Ex, UPS, or whoever else delivers. They will get the money!!!
And when all that fails, you lucky home owners will help foot the bill. :angry: