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osoab
15th August 2011, 07:08 PM
Get your pipe tobacco now.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s112-1403

Jul 21, 2011 - Introduced in Senate. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the Senate for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill currently available on GovTrack.

To amend part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide full Federal funding of such part.


S. 1403



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES


July 21, 2011


Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. BENNET, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. REED, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance




SEC. 3. TOBACCO TAX INCREASE AND PARITY.

(a) Short Title- This section may be cited as the ‘Saving Lives by Lowering Tobacco Use Act’.


(b) Increase in Excise Tax on Small Cigars and Cigarettes-

(1) SMALL CIGARS- Section 5701(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘$50.33’ and inserting ‘$100.50’.

(2) CIGARETTES- Section 5701(b) of such Code is amended--

(A) by striking ‘$50.33’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘$100.50’, and

(B) by striking ‘$105.69’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘$211.04’.

(c) Tax Parity for Pipe Tobacco and Roll-Your-Own Tobacco-

(1) PIPE TOBACCO- Section 5701(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘$2.8311 cents’ and inserting ‘$49.55’.

(2) ROLL-YOUR-OWN TOBACCO- Section 5701(g) of such Code is amended by striking ‘$24.78’ and inserting ‘$49.55’.

(d) Clarification of Definition of Small Cigars- Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 5701(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are each amended by striking ‘three pounds per thousand’ and inserting ‘four and one-half pounds per thousand’.

(e) Clarification of Definition of Cigarette- Paragraph (2) of section 5702(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before the final period the following: ‘, which includes any roll for smoking containing tobacco that weighs no more than four and a half pounds per thousand, unless it is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf and does not have a cellulose acetate or other cigarette-style filter’.

(f) Tax Parity for Smokeless Tobacco-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 5701(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘$1.51’ and inserting ‘$26.79’;


(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘50.33 cents’ and inserting ‘$10.72’; and


(C) by adding at the end the following:



‘(3) SMOKELESS TOBACCO SOLD IN DISCRETE SINGLE-USE UNITS- On discrete single-use units, $100.50 per each 1,000 single-use units.’.


(2) DISCRETE SINGLE-USE UNIT- Section 5702(m) of such Code is amended--

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘or chewing tobacco’ and inserting ‘chewing tobacco, discrete single-use unit’;


(B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by inserting ‘that is not a discrete single-use unit’ before the period in each such paragraph; and


(C) by adding at the end the following:



‘(4) DISCRETE SINGLE-USE UNIT- The term ‘discrete single-use unit’ means any product containing tobacco that--

‘(A) is intended or expected to be consumed without being combusted; and


‘(B) is in the form of a lozenge, tablet, pill, pouch, dissolvable strip, or other discrete single-use or single-dose unit.’.



(3) OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS- Section 5701 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:



‘(i) Other Tobacco Products- Any product not otherwise described under this section that has been determined to be a tobacco product by the Food and Drug Administration through its authorities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act shall be taxed at a level of tax equivalent to the tax rate for cigarettes on an estimated per use basis as determined by the Secretary.’.


(g) Clarifying Other Tobacco Tax Definitions-

(1) TOBACCO PRODUCT DEFINITION- Section 5702(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before the period the following: ‘, and any other product containing tobacco that is intended or expected to be consumed’.


(2) CIGARETTE PAPER DEFINITION- Section 5702(e) of such Code is amended by striking ‘except tobacco,’ and inserting ‘or cigar (other than roll-your-own tobacco)’.


(3) CIGARETTE TUBE DEFINITION- Section 5702(f) of such Code is amended by inserting before the period ‘or cigars’.


(4) IMPORTER DEFINITION- Section 5702(k) of such Code is amended by inserting ‘or any other tobacco product’ after ‘cigars or cigarettes’.



(h) Inflation Adjustment- Section 5701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by subsection (f)(3), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:


‘(j) Inflation Adjustment- In the case of any calendar year after 2013, each amount set forth in this section shall be increased by an amount equal to--

‘(1) such amount, multiplied by


‘(2) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for such calendar year by substituting ‘calendar year 2012’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) thereof.’.



(i) Floor Stocks Taxes-

(1) IMPOSITION OF TAX- On tobacco products manufactured in or imported into the United States which are removed before any tax increase date and held on such date for sale by any person, there is hereby imposed a tax in an amount equal to the excess of--

(A) the tax which would be imposed under section 5701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on the article if the article had been removed on such date, over


(B) the prior tax (if any) imposed under section 5701 of such Code on such article.



(2) CREDIT AGAINST TAX- Each person shall be allowed as a credit against the taxes imposed by paragraph (1) an amount equal to $500. Such credit shall not exceed the amount of taxes imposed by paragraph (1) on such date for which such person is liable.


(3) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAYMENT-

(A) LIABILITY FOR TAX- A person holding tobacco products on any tax increase date to which any tax imposed by paragraph (1) applies shall be liable for such tax.


(B) METHOD OF PAYMENT- The tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall be paid in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulations.


(C) TIME FOR PAYMENT- The tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall be paid on or before the date that is 120 days after the effective date of the tax rate increase.



(4) ARTICLES IN FOREIGN TRADE ZONES- Notwithstanding the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the Foreign Trade Zone Act, 48 Stat. 998, 19 U.S.C. 81a (http://www.law.cornell.edu/usc-cgi/newurl?type=titlesect&title=19&section=81a) et seq.), or any other provision of law, any article which is located in a foreign trade zone on any tax increase date shall be subject to the tax imposed by paragraph (1) if--

(A) internal revenue taxes have been determined, or customs duties liquidated, with respect to such article before such date pursuant to a request made under the 1st proviso of section 3(a) of such Act, or


(B) such article is held on such date under the supervision of an officer of the United States Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to the 2d proviso of such section 3(a).



(5) DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this subsection--

(A) IN GENERAL- Any term used in this subsection which is also used in section 5702 of such Code shall have the same meaning as such term has in such section.


(B) TAX INCREASE DATE- The term ‘tax increase date’ means the effective date of any increase in any tobacco product excise tax rate pursuant to the amendments made by this section (other than subsection (g) thereof).


(C) SECRETARY- The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate.



(6) CONTROLLED GROUPS- Rules similar to the rules of section 5061(e)(3) of such Code shall apply for purposes of this subsection.


(7) OTHER LAWS APPLICABLE- All provisions of law, including penalties, applicable with respect to the taxes imposed by section 5701 of such Code shall, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, apply to the floor stocks taxes imposed by paragraph (1), to the same extent as if such taxes were imposed by such section 5701. The Secretary may treat any person who bore the ultimate burden of the tax imposed by paragraph (1) as the person to whom a credit or refund under such provisions may be allowed or made.



(j) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to articles removed (as defined in section 5702(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) after December 31, 2011.

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Nomoss
15th August 2011, 07:57 PM
Thanks for the link.
So its up up up.
$2.83 to $49+?
The war is soon I say.

ximmy
15th August 2011, 08:04 PM
how hard is it to grow your own tobacco?

osoab
15th August 2011, 08:05 PM
Thanks for the link.
So its up up up.
$2.83 to $49+?
The war is soon I say.

Well, they are bumping cigarette rolling tobacco too.

When Obummer first got into office they bumped up the taxes on RYO tobacco abut 2400% and they left pipe tobacco alone or with a small bump.
Looking at the numbers above, they are making them equal now. That is the the "Parity" they are talking about in the language.

I haven't looked at the sections discussed, but regular cigs and cigars are doubling in tax too.

osoab
15th August 2011, 08:24 PM
how hard is it to grow your own tobacco?


I had some great looking plants growing last year. Then the hornworms hit them hard. Big Hornworms. I really didn't like spraying pesticides on stuff I wanted to smoke. The organic stuff just wouldn't cut it, ie, neem oil. It was the 1st time I had hornworms in my garden. I was glad I kept the tobacco way far away from my other veggies.

Then I had issues with the weather and the leaves didn't start brown off in time before the first frost. You can't pick leaves green.

I did have 8' tall plants growing in 5 gallon buckets, great looking plants @ that. I may have given them too much fish emulsion too late in the year.

The seeds are tiny. Very, very tiny. I bought mine from New Hope Seeds I think.

It was my first try at tobacco and I wasn't pleased with my failure. I didn't do any this year. I still need to get a book to read more up on it.

Eyebone
15th August 2011, 08:34 PM
how hard is it to grow your own tobacco?

Growing it isn't hard, drying, curing and making it smokable is hard.

Libertytree
15th August 2011, 08:35 PM
I fucking hate those assholes and God help them if I ever have a chance at closing the loopholes they've been sucking on the teat from, I'll crucify those pricks!

osoab
16th August 2011, 04:45 AM
I fucking hate those assholes and God help them if I ever have a chance at closing the loopholes they've been sucking on the teat from, I'll crucify those pricks!


Tells us how you really feel Lib.

TomD
16th August 2011, 05:03 AM
Personally I'm pleased that my Masters know what is best for me and are so wise.

Oh, filed under the theory of unintended consequences, I find this : "A press release from John Hopkins Medicine announced last week that according to results of a study, quitting smoking may actually increase your risk of type 2 diabetes." (http://diabetes.about.com/b/2010/01/11/quitting-smoking-weight-gain-may-increase-risk-of-type-2-diabetes.htm)

Twisted Titan
16th August 2011, 06:03 AM
The Holy Trinity of the underground just got another boost in preimums

Alcohol
Tobacco
Firearms

Eyebone
16th August 2011, 07:56 AM
I had some great looking plants growing last year. Then the hornworms hit them hard. Big Hornworms. I really didn't like spraying pesticides on stuff I wanted to smoke. The organic stuff just wouldn't cut it, ie, neem oil. It was the 1st time I had hornworms in my garden. I was glad I kept the tobacco way far away from my other veggies.

Then I had issues with the weather and the leaves didn't start brown off in time before the first frost. You can't pick leaves green.

I did have 8' tall plants growing in 5 gallon buckets, great looking plants @ that. I may have given them too much fish emulsion too late in the year.

The seeds are tiny. Very, very tiny. I bought mine from New Hope Seeds I think.

It was my first try at tobacco and I wasn't pleased with my failure. I didn't do any this year. I still need to get a book to read more up on it.

Years ago I worked on some tobacco farms, in North Carolina and southern Ontario.

I was involved mostly in the picking and curing process but I do remember the seeds and young plants were bred to be very area specific.

steyr_m
16th August 2011, 08:25 AM
What ever tax bump you Americans got will not compare to what we pay here. We pay $14 a pack for smokes. As TT says there are active cigarette smuggling circles here.

madfranks
16th August 2011, 08:41 AM
Personally I'm pleased that my Masters know what is best for me and are so wise.

Oh, filed under the theory of unintended consequences, I find this : "A press release from John Hopkins Medicine announced last week that according to results of a study, quitting smoking may actually increase your risk of type 2 diabetes." (http://diabetes.about.com/b/2010/01/11/quitting-smoking-weight-gain-may-increase-risk-of-type-2-diabetes.htm)

I get your sarcasm, but really that's how most people will accept it. "Well, smoking is bad for you anyway, so maybe they should tax it more..."

vacuum
16th August 2011, 01:14 PM
Darn it. My dad recently switch to a pipe from cigs. It went from a ridiculously expensive habit to something reasonable. Now its going to get ridiculous again...

By the way, what do these numbers refer to? Are they by the pound or what?

edit: yup, for pipe tobacco, it's per pound. For cigarettes, its per 1000 cigarettes with the cigs not being more than 3 lbs/1000. That means the cigarette taxes are essentially for 3 lbs of cigarettes, whereas this pipe tobacco tax is for 1 lb of pipe tobacco.

So in essence, pipe tobacco would be taxed at about 75% of what cigarettes are taxed at, per lb. However, pipe tobacco is moist and therefore weighs more. Also don't use it as efficiently as a cigarette. So therefore, it will now be more expensive to use a pipe than a cigarette.

This defines the tax rates:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00005701----000-.html

Libertytree
16th August 2011, 01:26 PM
Darn it. My dad recently switch to a pipe from cigs. It went from a ridiculously expensive habit to something reasonable. Now its going to get ridiculous again...

Here's the thing...A loophole was left in the last legislation w/ regards to pipe tobacco, the thing is is that pipe tobacco and cig tobacco is for all purposes the same thing. The roll your own community was quick to exploit this loophole and probably hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars escaped their greedy grasp, I read an article here in Ky bemoaning this "travesty". Next year I'm growing my own! if those assclowns think they're gonna extort money from me they have another thing coming.

Horn
16th August 2011, 01:31 PM
Guy I know over here in Costa imports it himself "thru a loophole" of creative packaging.

Tried Colombia first, that didn't work. Nicaragua did though.

Libertytree
16th August 2011, 01:36 PM
Guy I know over here in Costa imports it himself "thru a loophole" of creative packaging.

Tried Colombia first, that didn't work. Nicaragua did though.

I wonder why he's importing it? You can buy a carton of India smokes for $10 or less in the frontera in Panama, that's what we did. It also seems like you could grow tobacco very easily in CR.

Horn
16th August 2011, 01:43 PM
I wonder why he's importing it?

He can sell it in the U.S. for a whole buncha more dough, I guess I meant exporting... :)

It was funny, I moved into a new apt. here a month ago, they had this movin in party. Thought i might have to refine my Spanish to make it thru.

I go to the party & more than half the guys there are from the U.S. speaking English.