[GOPcapitalist]

Then why did the Confederate Congress levy a 25% tariff on imported cigars? There must have been some folks in Virginia who wanted the tariff set that high.

It is more likely that imported cigars were seen as a luxury good and thus a means to shift the tax burden onto persons buying luxury items. Even then, a 25% tariff was low by the standards of the day and cigars were one of only 12 articles in the 25% category. The rest were predominantly 15% or 10% - a level that was lower than US tariffs had been for the previous half century (heck, 25% was lower than the US tariffs had been for the previous half century except for between 1857-60).

[Ditto]

It is more likely that imported cigars were seen as a luxury good and thus a means to shift the tax burden onto persons buying luxury items.

LOL. So it was a class warfare thing? How about it was good for Virginia tobacco farmers and cigar makers?