4月13日，特拉華州眾議院收入和財政委員會（Delaware House Revenue & Finance Committee）投票通過 “S.B. 131”提案，擬將該州的雪茄征收從批發價的30%降至15%。表決結果是10票支持降低稅率，2票反對，一票棄權。

提案由該州的民主黨參議員勞拉·斯特金（Laura Sturgeon）于 2021 年 5 月 10 日提出，僅適用于優質雪茄。優質雪茄的立法定義為：

完全由煙草制成，包括茄衣、茄套、茄芯。

手工卷制。

不含任何由煙草以外的材料或者調味劑組成的濾嘴、吸嘴、煙嘴。

這個提案的本意是希望特拉華州的優質雪茄稅率和周邊幾個州的稅率相比具有競爭力。馬里蘭州的優質雪茄稅率是批發價的15%，賓夕法尼亞州沒有煙草稅，新澤西州的稅率是30%。

預計減稅將使特拉華州2023年財政收入減少62.72美元。

高級雪茄協會（Premium Cigar Association）副執行董事約書亞·哈伯斯基（Joshua Habursky）在委員會作證時說：“這是一個可以為特拉華州的小企業及其顧客提供援助的機會，優質雪茄協會強烈支持這種親小企業提案。”

附參考文章：

Cigar smokers in “The First State” may be getting a tax break in the future. The Delaware House Revenue & Finance Committee voted yesterday to advance S.B. 131, a bill that will cut the state tax on premium cigars in half, from 30 percent of the wholesale price to 15 percent.

Now that the bill has overwhelmingly passed the Finance Committee (by a vote of 10-2 with one abstention), it has to go to the House Appropriations Committee before reaching the Assembly floor.

The bill was introduced on May 10, 2021 by Democrat State Senator Laura Sturgeon. It applies solely to premium cigars, defined in the legislation as:

Made entirely of tobacco, including the wrapper, binder, and filler

Hand rolled

Contains no filter, tip, or any mouthpiece consisting of material other than tobacco, or any additional flavoring?

The bill aims to make Delaware’s premium cigar tax rate competitive with the tax rates of its surrounding states. Maryland’s tax on premium cigars is 15 percent of the wholesale tax, Pennsylvania doesn’t have any tobacco tax at all, and New Jersey has a tax rate of 30 percent.?

According to the official fiscal note, the tax reduction is estimated to cost the state of Delaware $627,200 in annual revenue for the year 2023.?

“This is a unique opportunity to address a source of assistance for small businesses and their patrons that are based in Delaware,” said Joshua Habursky, deputy executive director for the Premium Cigar Association, in his testimony before the committee.?

“S.B. 131 is a pro small business bill that the Premium Cigar Association strongly endorses.”?