- Apr 2, 2009
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MI bill (SB 1018) introduced to define vapor products as “smokeless tobacco”, tax “vapor products” at $.10/ml of e-liquid, tax “moist snuff” at $.53/ounce, tax “alternative nicotine products” at $.0003/mg, require “vapor product” marketers to comply with MI tobacco licensing laws; bill referred to Senate Finance Cmte
Michigan Legislature - Senate Bill 1018 (2014)
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2014-SIB-1018.htm
Since SB 1018 only amends Sections 2, 6, 7 and 12 of the MI Tobacco Tax Act, the other sections of that statute would need to be analyzed to determine the other impacts of the bill on "vapor products" (including tobacco licensure).
I suspect that SB 1018 may be sponsored by Altria because:
- Altria is beginning to market "MarkTen" e-cigs nationwide, and SB 1018 benefits large cigarette companies and cigalikes at the expense of e-liquid marketers,
- Altria has lobbied many states to tax "moist snuff" by the ounce (instead of % of price) since Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen cost nearly twice as much as Reynolds' Grizzly,
- Altria is now test marketing a dissolvable "alternative nicotine product" called Verve, which would barely be taxed by SB 1018.
Although SB 1018 would tax e-liquid somewhat similarly as Reynolds' sponsored legislation in NC (and in OK last year), Reynolds has opposed Altria's lobbying efforts to tax moist snuff by the ounce, as Reynolds benefits from taxing moist snuff as a percentage of price (since Grizzly costs only about half as much as
Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen and is only taxed at about half the rate as Altria's snuff products).
SB 1018's proposed $.53/ounce tax on snuff would reduce MI's current 32% tax on Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen, but would probably increase the tax on Reynolds' Grizzly.
Michigan Legislature - Senate Bill 1018 (2014)
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2014-SIB-1018.htm
Since SB 1018 only amends Sections 2, 6, 7 and 12 of the MI Tobacco Tax Act, the other sections of that statute would need to be analyzed to determine the other impacts of the bill on "vapor products" (including tobacco licensure).
I suspect that SB 1018 may be sponsored by Altria because:
- Altria is beginning to market "MarkTen" e-cigs nationwide, and SB 1018 benefits large cigarette companies and cigalikes at the expense of e-liquid marketers,
- Altria has lobbied many states to tax "moist snuff" by the ounce (instead of % of price) since Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen cost nearly twice as much as Reynolds' Grizzly,
- Altria is now test marketing a dissolvable "alternative nicotine product" called Verve, which would barely be taxed by SB 1018.
Although SB 1018 would tax e-liquid somewhat similarly as Reynolds' sponsored legislation in NC (and in OK last year), Reynolds has opposed Altria's lobbying efforts to tax moist snuff by the ounce, as Reynolds benefits from taxing moist snuff as a percentage of price (since Grizzly costs only about half as much as
Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen and is only taxed at about half the rate as Altria's snuff products).
SB 1018's proposed $.53/ounce tax on snuff would reduce MI's current 32% tax on Altria's Skoal and Copenhagen, but would probably increase the tax on Reynolds' Grizzly.
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