Top Takeaways:
- Bill S. 4820 would raise New Jersey cigar tax from 30% to 50% of wholesale price.
- The tax on moist snuff would also rise from $0.75 to $1.50 per ounce.
- Passage would elevate New Jersey’s cigar tax rate from 13th-highest to 7th-highest nationally.
A bill introduced in the New Jersey Senate would raise the state excise tax on cigars from 30% to 50% of the wholesale price, according to Senate Bill 4820 sponsored by Sen. Joe F. Vitale (D-Woodbridge).
Under the current rate, a cigar with an MSRP of $9.50 (wholesale around $4.75) incurs a tax of about $1.43, which would increase to roughly $2.38 under the proposed rate before sales tax.
The measure would also double the tax on moist snuff from $0.75 to $1.50 per ounce. The bill’s text states that the amendments apply to “the sale, use or distribution” of other tobacco and nicotine products, and includes a definition of “oral nicotine pouch” within the taxable “tobacco product” category.
If passed, New Jersey would shift from having the 13th-highest cigar tax rate in the U.S. to the 7th-highest. Currently, the bill has no identified Senate co-sponsors and lacks a companion measure in the Assembly.
