Wednesday, January 06 2010
By Chris McCalla, Legislative Dir. (IPCPR)
House Bill 2493 Proposes Across-the-Board Increases
The Cigar Association of America (CAA) recently distributed a notice detailing HB2493. The legislation proposes tobacco tax increases on all tobacco products. Additionally, the bill proposes a drastic increase in the state's current cigar tax
cap.
Washington was the second state in the Union to enact a cigar tax cap to help in-state retailers remain competitive with out-of-state tobacco retail businesses.
HB2493 proposes the following:
- increase the cigarette tax by $.40 per pack (to $2.425 per pack or 2.125 cents per stick)
- define a "small cigar" to weigh less than four one-thousandths of a pound (i.e. four pounds per 1,000) and tax them at the same rate as cigarettes
- increase the OTP tax from 75% to a new rate of 95%
- increase the current $.50 per stick cigar tax cap to an amount per cigar equal to the cigarette tax multiplied by 20--i.e., $0.125 x 20 = new cigar tax cap rate of $2.425 per cigar (the current cigar tax cap is 50 cent per cigar)
- tax moist snuff the greater of 95% of the taxable sales price or the cigarette tax multiplied by 20 (i.e. $2.425 per container), increased proportionately for each ounce or fractional part of an ounce where the single unit consumer-sized can or package is in excess of 1.2 ounces
- tax roll-your-own tobacco (as now defined by the federal government) the greater of 95% of the taxable sales price or the cigarette tax multiplied by 20, increased proportionately for each ounce or fractional part of an ounce where the single unit consumer sized can or package is in excess of sixty-give one-hundredths ounces
- tax capsular (for example snus) smokeless tobacco, an amount per single-use unit or single-dose unit equal to the greater of 95% of the taxable sales price per single-unit or single-dose unit or the cigarette tax.
Right now, we understand HB2493 may not progress very far in the legislative process. As the CAA is actively working on this regressive legislation, the IPCPR will closely watch this bill and will launch a Legislative Action Alert when that time comes.
As more information becomes available on HB2493, we will update you.
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For more information regarding tobacco legislation in your state, please visit IPCPR.org.
