Industry to Challenge Proposed California Tax

Michael Moretti
Posted: May 12, 2006

Cigar manufacturers and organizations have formed the California Association of Liberty and Choice (CALC) to fight California's proposed tobacco tax increase.

The proposed Tobacco Tax of 2006 includes a 135 percent tax on the wholesale price of cigars, which the association believes will have "a serious detrimental effect on the California cigar industry."

According to a statement released on May 11, Robert Levin of Ashton Cigar Co., Carlos Fuente Jr. of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia., Peter Baenninger of Davidoff U.S.A., Eric Newman of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., Keith Park of Prometheus International Inc. and the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America have "committed to donating whatever it takes to set up CALC and get the ball rolling immediately."

CALC intends to stage a grassroots effort, getting its message out through brochures, word of mouth and mass e-mails.

The initiative is expected to go before voters in November.

For more on this story, see the upcoming May 23 issue of Cigar Insider.

Click here to read more about the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006.