California Proposition 29

[TommyBB]

Got this on the Cigar Weekly Facebook Group

Originally Posted by José Blanco

We need to defeat Prop 29 in the state of California, they want to raise the taxes on cigars 73% and the funny thing about it is that the money doesn't even stay in the state, enough is enough of all this hypocrisy who are they kidding, In this country we are already over taxed, vote NO because today will be Tobacco and after that who knows what, be proactive and vote NO against another injustice towards our industry that we love and enjoy so much

Keep an eye on this. If anyone else has links to take action, please post. We have to be on top of this. If we can forestall in CA, we can resist anywhere.

[Rob G]

You have got to be kidding me. FB is the reason why we have so few people as it is and now we have a CW Facebook page?!

I am really beginning to hate FB and I got a really good laugh when the stock only went up a few pennies today.

[TommyBB]

It's a contributing factor, but not the only reason, not by a long shot.
I know I'm under scrutiny at work, can't hit up CW during the workday, anymore.
It also allows me to make quick contact with a lot of people in the industry, should I need to.

[TommyBB]

From Kyle at IPCPR

California’s Proposition 29 is Flawed, and Set to Repeat Mistakes
Sacramento, CA-- In California,a pending ballot measure to raise tobacco taxes is being scrutinized by citizens.
The initiative, Proposition 29, proposes a $1 tax increase for cigarettes as well as tax increases for premium
cigars and pipe tobaccos.
The initiative proposes to create a committee of bureaucrats who will manage the supposed $735 million dollars
a year that Prop. 29 will raise. Of that $735 million, hundreds of millions every year could go to out-of-state and
for-profit corporations, while up to $125 million is earmarked to pay for salaries, buildings/real estate, and
other administrative costs.
However, there is a surprising amount of discretion left to these bureaucrats and how they will spend the
money. For one, none of this money will go to public schools, even though in California there is a voter-approved
constitutional amendment that requires new taxes to help fund education. None of the money will go towards
alleviating the state's $16 billion budget deficit, either. The research money may not even stay in California, as
there is nothing that requires it to be spent in the state or even in the country.
Also, the proposition cannot be touched for 15 years. The governor and legislators are prohibited from making
changes to it, even in the case of waste or mismanagement.
This proposition will potentially create a $735 million vacuum that takes money away from California citizens
and redirects it at the committee's discretion. This smash-and-grab approach to taxation simply cannot be
tolerated. At the end of the day it is taking money from California citizens without the requirement that it be
spent in California.
If the money is coming from the pockets of California citizens, it should stay in California. If this were a universal
tax, it would never be allowed to be spent outside of the state.
Proposition 29 boils down to a poorly thought-out initiative that, at its core, is a fundraising project with no
accountability. It will raise tobacco prices across the board and give the money to a bureaucratic council with no
obligations to the state or the taxpayers. Rather, their obligations will be to their affiliated universities and forprofit partners, all lining up to get their check.
The proposition will be up for vote on June 5th.
This article was written by Kyle Whalen. Kyle is the Public Relations Manager for the International Premium Cigar
& Pipe Retailers Association and can be reached at kyle@ipcpr.org. More information can be found online at
www.ipcpr.org.

[Gamle-ged]

"...The initiative proposes to create a committee of bureaucrats who will manage the supposed $735 million dollars... there is a surprising amount of discretion left to these bureaucrats and how they will spend the money...Also, the proposition cannot be touched for 15 years. The governor and legislators are prohibited from making changes to it, even in the case of waste or mismanagement..."

Gonna be some significant under-the-table money given to whoever has the say as to who gets on that committee of bureaucrats...

[bsslack]

Yet another Boondoggle dressed up as a "Good Deed" or a "If it saves one anything it's worth it" bill.

The You cannot change it fo 15 years. THAT Alone tells you how questionable this is. I don't know many legitimate legislation's that need that kind of locked time frame, to be effective. 15 YEARS! They want to Kill tobacco in Ca and don't care about anything else! It's a targeted, calculated, Punitive Attack, by anti tobacco, in a thinly veiled disguise. The authors offer no regulation or accountability or even any actual quantifiable stated goals. They only seek to price tobacco out of the market, like in New York. This will cost Biliions, THAT'S BILLIONS, before it would even be allowed to be modified. UNCHANGEABLE! That's some Badd Ju-Ju there.


This bill is Dishonest, Deceptive and Dishonorable and these liberal creatures have no conscious or sub-conscious decency.



I tell Everyone I know about this.............. Smoker or not. You should too, because if it passes , there will be a similar one coming to Your neck of the woods very SOON!






NO! ON 29!




slack

[bsk]

Prop 29 is a bureaucrats dream! seriously.

Could you imagine somehow landing the job of being on the committee that controls these funds!?! Personal wealth and power beyond any conceivable expectation.

This version may not pass, but they will reload and be back!
["Save the children!!!" type platform]

[cigarlibrarian]

So what is the point of this tax? You've got an unaccountable "commission" with what appears to be no oversight and no chance for lawmakers and the voters to hold them accountable for 15 years.

I would happily supply an account in the Caymans for the money to be sent to.

[bsslack]

But, Hey that's the beauty of it. It gives birth to an as yet nonexistant entity and funds it with Hundreds of millions of dollars taken from a particular group that the libs equate with satanic worshipers. Then the bestest part, there's no oversite or recourse. Plus, the Gravy train runs for at least 15 years.


What could be better than that?




How this Sh*t even gets on the ballot is Shamefull. If You structured an IPO like this Do You know What You could expect?




.........Jail Time for Fraud.





They just hope We get lazy and expect someone else to vote it Down.

Gent's, We cannot take that chance, get out and vote this POS into the trash heap whence it came.





slack

[bsk]

In California, anyone can get a proposition on the ballot, all they need is something like 50,000 registered voters signatures.

When I lived there, many wacky propositions appeared on the ballots.
[One was to ban the use of any/all pesticides in California. I voted it against it because I liked eating and hated ants in my house. And it was voted down.]

Once the details get brought to light, it will get voted down. Not for the tobacco tax part, but for administrative details.

But, like I said, they'll be back ...