SB 544

Current law imposes an excise tax on the sale of cigarettes in this state. The tax rate varies depending on the weight and length of the cigarettes. Current law defines a “cigarette” as any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance other than tobacco.

Under current law, the tax rate on cigarettes weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, is 126 mills, plus 8 mills, on each cigarette. For cigarettes weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, the rate is 252 mills on each cigarette, plus 16.8 mills on each such cigarette that is not more than 6.75 inches in length. For cigarettes weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand that are more than 6.75 inches in length, current law imposes an additional tax at the rate of 8 mills on each such cigarette, counting each 2.75 inches of length as one cigarette.

This bill modifies the excise tax on the sale of cigarettes so that current law applies to a cigarette that the bill defines as a roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance other than tobacco that is intended for smoking by burning the tobacco. In addition, the bill imposes a separate excise tax on the sale of a cigarette that the bill defines as a roll of tobacco wrapped or contained within any substance other than tobacco that involves heating the tobacco without the combustion of the tobacco or other flammable material, not including a vapor product.

Under the bill, the rate of the excise tax on a cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, is 63 mills, plus 4 mills, on each cigarette. For cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, the rate is 126 mills on each cigarette, plus 8.4 mills on each such cigarette that is not more than 6.75 inches in length. For cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand that are more than 6.75 inches in length, the bill imposes an additional tax at the rate of 4 mills on each such cigarette, counting each 2.75 inches of length as one cigarette.