No tobacco tax hike in California. Proposition 29, a ballot question that would have increased the California cigarette tax by $1 per pack and raised other tobacco products’ excise tax on an equivalent basis, was not passed by voters in a June 5 California election, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported. The failure…
California Rolls Out Improved Cigarette Tax Stamp
Improved high-tech tax stamps with a new design will soon be available and affixed to packs of cigarettes sold in California. The Board of Equalization (BOE) has approved the use of the updated stamp to further reduce the trafficking of counterfeit cigarettes and related excise tax evasion in California. The BOE is responsible for the…
Tax On Reservation Cigarettes On Hold
A federal judge has sided with New York in the latest ruling over the state’s plans to tax most Indian reservation smokeshop sales, but collection of the tax is on hold for now, the New York Post reported. U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara in Buffalo, N.Y. denied a request to block the state from collecting…
West Virginia: RYO Machines Violate Law
The West Virginia Department of Revenue has issued Administrative Notice No. 10-26, which rules that allowing customers to use roll-your-own cigarette machines inside retail stores is now considered to be the illegal manufacturing and selling of unstamped cigarettes, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported. The notice went on to call large RYO machines…
Cigarette Sales Drop In New York
The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) has reported that cigarette sales at convenience stores in New York have seen a steep decline since the $1.60 per pack cigarette tax increase hit on July 1, 2010. New York State now holds the highest state cigarette tax rate in the nation at $4.35 per pack,…
RYO Rolls Into 2010
RYO Pounds Sold Per Year Roll your own (RYO) cigarettes is a growing trend. Sales have climbed during the past five years, yet took a dive in 2009 as customers started using pipe tobacco to roll cigarettes as a result of increased taxes. On the other hand, customers used 10.6 million pounds of pipe tobacco…