So the other day, I read about the New York legislature's move toward a cigar tax cap. Now, if you keep up with cigar politics at all, you would know that New York's cigar tax is not only egregious, it is irresponsible on the part of the legislature. At 75%, the tax helps to more than double the price of a cigar, once other taxes and profits and factored in. But finally, someone in that state has stood up and basically said "Enough is enough," and that person deserves to be recognized as a Freedom Fighter for cigar rights.
Anyways, once I read about this, I began to think about my own state's OTP tax, and although it may not be too high right now (Ohio has a 17% OTP tax), the risk of it rising is not something that I wanted to sit and wait around for. So I contacted some people in Columbus to see if we could talk about introducing our own cigar tax cap legislation for the State of Ohio, and the behind-the-scenes response has been incredible to say the least. People really understand where I am coming from and they really want to help to save small retailers in Ohio.
Obviously it is extremely early in the game to get too excited about the potential outcome of these preliminary discussions. But with a little effort, the correct timing of the political landscape of the state, and some luck as well, I think this can be something that we pull off in Ohio, and something that other states begin to copy and pull off themselves! After all, it wasn't until I read about New York's early successes (And that fight is far from over) that I thought to maybe try and do something like that in my own state. This is how these things get done, all it takes is a sound argument and persistence and you can convince anybody to do anything!
Mike
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Cigars Are In!
Last night, I received one of the greatest packages of my life, and that was a small bundle of our cigars a couple weeks early. They are not packaged, nor do they have bands on them, but that doesn't make a difference in the way they are smoked! And I must say, and this may be me being biased but I'd like to think I am being completely forthcoming, they are extremely good and better than I remember.
We had a bit of a push back on the arrival because of some moisture issues. Apparently, the humidity in the Dominican Republic was at extremes the past few weeks, so the moisture during the aging process was taking a little slower to leave the cigars. But now they are fine and ready for consumption! I just had one about an hour ago, and it burned so evenly and I had no troubles keeping it lit, that you wouldn't think there was ever a moisture issue!
Look for the official release to be within the next week or two. They are being packaged next week and then shipped out, going through customs then making their way up to Cleveland. Plenty of shops in Northeast Ohio have already put in their orders, and we are accepting orders from all shops all over the country now! So if you are interested in carrying the brand, be sure to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, or even my email, which is below. Thanks for all the support and we look forward to officially entering an amazing industry!
Mike
mike@crossroads-group.com (It is not the cigar email, but this is the best one to reach me at.)
We had a bit of a push back on the arrival because of some moisture issues. Apparently, the humidity in the Dominican Republic was at extremes the past few weeks, so the moisture during the aging process was taking a little slower to leave the cigars. But now they are fine and ready for consumption! I just had one about an hour ago, and it burned so evenly and I had no troubles keeping it lit, that you wouldn't think there was ever a moisture issue!
Look for the official release to be within the next week or two. They are being packaged next week and then shipped out, going through customs then making their way up to Cleveland. Plenty of shops in Northeast Ohio have already put in their orders, and we are accepting orders from all shops all over the country now! So if you are interested in carrying the brand, be sure to contact us via Twitter, Facebook, or even my email, which is below. Thanks for all the support and we look forward to officially entering an amazing industry!
Mike
mike@crossroads-group.com (It is not the cigar email, but this is the best one to reach me at.)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Cigar Caucus of Ohio
Recently, I went to my state's capital of Columbus to meet with some lobbyists fronting a movement for better cigar rights in Ohio, as well as going to the official cocktail mixer for the beginning of the Cigar Caucus. I did not go as a representative from Tosa Cigars so much as I went as a CRA Ambassador trying to see what all I can do to help, and to be honest it seems that things are well on their way to running smoothly over there.
The reason this is so important is because it is a groundwork and a base for something that may not be completely necessary now, given the political climate in Columbus, but if we wait until it is needed, it may be too late. Right now, pretty much the entire make-up of Columbus politics is fairly conservative, pretty much across the board. When it comes to issues that these legislature and executives pass and sign-off on, the only real concern is taxes, which conservatives are extremely hesitant to ever raise. So for now, the issue of the OTP tax going up is not of major concern right now, but who knows what the climate will be like in 4 years?
That is why it is important to get involved now. If we have a grassroots effort and a base in the legislature of every state when the climate is friendly, it gives us an opportunity to get organized and test the waters with different ideas first, where a misstep would be less catastrophic. If we wait for a more liberal interpretation of research and laws from people who are less friendly to the smokers' rights movement, then we run the risk of making some inevitable early mistakes that could prove to be detrimental. That is why every state and every cigar smoker in those states needs to organize now, especially if the climate is friendly, because this is the time to make friends in high places to challenge any bill or state constitutional amendment up on ballot.
I know most people will read this and talk about how right I am and how much they agree, but won't actually do anything. I will give up all my dignity and actually beg this not be the normal course of action for everyone. We can only say so much and support others so much with words, it's what we actually do to help people and causes that make some sort of difference. We are in an industry that is likened to the deepest circles of Hell, and we have very few friends that are willing to actually stand up for us. We need all the help we can get.
Mike
The reason this is so important is because it is a groundwork and a base for something that may not be completely necessary now, given the political climate in Columbus, but if we wait until it is needed, it may be too late. Right now, pretty much the entire make-up of Columbus politics is fairly conservative, pretty much across the board. When it comes to issues that these legislature and executives pass and sign-off on, the only real concern is taxes, which conservatives are extremely hesitant to ever raise. So for now, the issue of the OTP tax going up is not of major concern right now, but who knows what the climate will be like in 4 years?
That is why it is important to get involved now. If we have a grassroots effort and a base in the legislature of every state when the climate is friendly, it gives us an opportunity to get organized and test the waters with different ideas first, where a misstep would be less catastrophic. If we wait for a more liberal interpretation of research and laws from people who are less friendly to the smokers' rights movement, then we run the risk of making some inevitable early mistakes that could prove to be detrimental. That is why every state and every cigar smoker in those states needs to organize now, especially if the climate is friendly, because this is the time to make friends in high places to challenge any bill or state constitutional amendment up on ballot.
I know most people will read this and talk about how right I am and how much they agree, but won't actually do anything. I will give up all my dignity and actually beg this not be the normal course of action for everyone. We can only say so much and support others so much with words, it's what we actually do to help people and causes that make some sort of difference. We are in an industry that is likened to the deepest circles of Hell, and we have very few friends that are willing to actually stand up for us. We need all the help we can get.
Mike
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