Earlier this year, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin proposed raising the tobacco tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products which includes cigars. Today a third reading by the West Virginia House of Delegates is scheduled to for today’s budget session which is now on its seventh day. Each day the session costs tax payers $35,000.
The bill which saw the language to strip taxes on e-cigarettes and vapor liquid from the proposal on Monday is expected to raise the tax on cigars from 7% to 12% of the wholesale price.
The bill which already passed the senate needs to pass the House of Delegates before moving on to the Governors desk who is expected to sign the measure should it pass.
UPDATE 5.24.16 : Despite the proposal making it through two readings with little opposition, the measure to raise the taxes failed to gather enough votes to pass giving smokers a rare victory.
