After years of effort by multiple industry trade associations, the state of Illinois just joined the coalition of states that have a premium cigar tax cap.

With passage in the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate of a new state budget, the Governor has signed a budget bill that includes a .75 tax cap on premium handmade cigars, which will also apply to remote sales, providing a new source of tax fairness and relief for Illinois premium cigar shops and their patrons.

Phil Ledbetter, owner of Up Down Cigars in Chicago stated “We would like to thank our advocates in the Illinois legislature, which have stood behind such an action by passing this tax fairness measure for Illinois small businesses. We would also like to thank the Premium Cigar Association, Cigar Rights of America and the Cigar Association of America for their support.”

Glynn Loope, Director of State Advocacy for the Premium Cigar Association added, “This legislative initiative in Illinois is living proof of what perseverance and consistency can bring to the passage of beneficial legislation for the premium cigar industry. In addition, the leadership of Phil Ledbetter and Mike Gold of Arango was critical to the success of this measure. Illinois now joins an exclusive club of states that have recognized a tax cap as an economically beneficial step in tax policy.”

Loope and Ledbetter also noted that this was one of the first successful uses of the new PCA and CAA tax cap study analysis, which provided definitive data on projected tax benefits, if such a cap were put put in place.