Tobacco
Florida Jumps on Board to Regulate Vapes as Tobacco Products
In Florida, recent legislation seeks to define e-cigarettes as tobacco products and also restrict flavored vape products to be sold at 18 and over stores. Although some reports have determined that e-cigs and vapes are much safer than traditional cigarettes, the potential harmful effects seem to have motivated the restrictive lawmaking. Surprisingly, the new law’s…
Read MoreTobacco Importers Accused of Scheme to Avoid Federal Excise Taxes
Good Times USA LLC and its business partners have been accused of devising a scheme to avoid paying federal excise taxes (“FET”). The U.S. government gave a not so happy new year gift to Good Times and its partners on January 4, 2019, as it filed a Complaint in the U.S. Court of International Trade,…
Read MoreCA AMENDS TOBACCO PRODUCTS DEFINITION TO TAX BLUNT WRAPS
Prior to the recent amendment, California taxed “tobacco products” which were defined as “all forms of cigars, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, and any . . . products made of, or containing at least 50 percent, tobacco.” This meant that certain products, such as blunt wraps, or cigar wraps, may not be subject to these…
Read MoreALASKA VOTERS REJECT PROPOSED INCREASE ON ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND MARIJUANA SALES TAX
Proposition 1 was turned down on the October ballot for the city of Unalaska, Alaska. Voter’s had to decide whether to increase the sales tax on marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco by three percent, effectively doubling the tax. There are several other cities in Alaska that had a sales tax increase on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana…
Read MoreTobacco Tax Audit/Refund
As cigarettes and other tobacco products are taxed on both the federal and state level, the tax compliance burdens are steep. The tobacco tax scheme is very different from other tax schemes because the product is taxed both at the federal and state level. Further, depending on the type of tobacco product being sold the…
Read MoreBlunt Wraps Refunds Still Linger in CA
California recently amended its definition of what constitutes a taxable “tobacco product.” California taxes “tobacco products” which was defined as “all forms of cigars, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, and any . . . products made of, or containing at least 50 percent, tobacco.” This meant that certain products, such as blunt wraps, or cigar…
Read MoreCigarette Tax Audit/Refund – What to Expect
As cigarettes and other tobacco products are taxed on both the federal and state level, the tax compliance burdens are steep. The tobacco tax scheme is very different from other tax schemes because the product is taxed both at the federal and state level. Further, depending on the type of tobacco product being sold the…
Read MoreBLUNT WRAPS NOT TAXABLE IN FLORIDA
For several years, I have been heavily involved with wholesale tobacco tax throughout the country. On April 6, 2016, the 1stDCA spoke loud and clear by determining that a blunt wrap or cigar wrap (a “Wrap”) product is not subject to Florida tax. This is a giant step towards putting an end towards at least…
Read MoreMinnesota Court Rules Separately Stated Federal Excise Tax Not Subject to Tax
Across the country, there has been a debate as to whether state tobacco tax applies to federal excise tax. For example, in 2012, a Florida court in Micjo Inc v Florida DBPR, ruled that the wholesale sales price upon which tax is calculated does not include federal excise tax or shipping charges. Since 2012, we…
Read MoreBLUNT WRAPS MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO STATE TAX IN ILLINOIS
Despite the well-known and proven ideology that the legislature holds the power to declare taxability of particular items, the Colorado Department of Revenue (“CDOR”) and Florida Department of Revenue (“FDOR”) went above and beyond their own reach in attempting to broaden the taxability of tobacco products, specifically blunt wraps. The Florida appellate court, for example,…
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