The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
The nation’s largest cigarettemaker on Wednesday secured a key victory when a Senate panel voted to classify as manufacturers Virginia retailers with machines that let customers roll their own cigarettes.
Backed by several powerful lobbying allies, Philip Morris USA persuaded the Senate Finance Committee to approve a bill supporters claim will require shops with roll-your-own machines to pay some federal and state tobacco taxes they’re now avoiding.
Imposing such standards will create a level playing field, industry officials have said.
Opponents argue the measure, SB74 from Powhatan County Republican Sen. John Watkins, actually is an attempt by big tobacco to snuff out niche competition from retailers who sell a carton’s worth of cigarettes at a lower price than many name brands.
Two merchants who run South Hampton Roads stores with automated rolling machines – they combine loose tobacco and paper tubes to produce 200 cigarettes in about 10 minutes – testified against the bill Tuesday.
They rejected claims they’re manufacturers, explaining customers oversee the assembly by inserting purchased cigarette ingredients into the machines.
“I want to be clear – I do not manufacture cigarettes and have no intention of doing so,” said Laneia Horton, who operates a Virginia Beach store with two cigarette machines. “The customer is involved from the start to finish, 100 percent.”
Horton and Eddie Siu, another retailer with shops in Hampton Roads, said Watkins' bill would put them out of business. That’s partly because they're unable qualify as a manufacturer under government standards, lobbyists representing roll-your-own interests said.
The Virginia debate mirrors a broader national row over whether or not merchants who provide access to the rolling machines are cigarette manufacturers.
Watkins' legislation sailed out of committee Wednesday morning. A similar bill is pending in the House of Delegates.
If those measures become law, roll-your-own representatives said they would challenge them in court.
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It was only a matter of time
Phillip Morris and other tobacco companies have our state in their pocket. This law is irritating, but it is not a surprise.
The free market
The free market has spoken.
Resource
Go to www.vpap.org for a listing of reported campaign contributions to the General Assembly members. It is interesting matching up the contributors to the GA members that support the bills favoring certain industries.
Throw that money around
It would be interesting to see the campaign contributions made by PM to our esteemed members voting on this. Then again, it's probably not much more than the small time tobacco shops...
grinding your own coffee at the supermarket...
would that be considered a manufacture business as well..just trying to see where the line is here...
Roll Your Own
Hampton Roads tobacco dealers: Since your going to have to pay the tax, roll and sell as many as you can. Specialize in higher quality tobacco,(not the wacky kind) and compete with the big boyz. Phillip Morris needs every penny cause they'll be paying off the Tobacco Settlement for another 13 years. And shame on the Senate Finance Committee leveling the playing field for PM. You wouldn't do that for Virginia's retail merchants by letting Amazon sell merchandise online without tax. Welcome to Virginia where everything's for sale: Senate votes and integrity.
Tobacco Settlement
Philip Morris pays not one penny into the tobacco settlement. Because they were the ones who negotiated it, the MSA includes a provision that allowed them to automatically add 45cents to the price of a pack of cigarettes to pay the settlement. There is no provision that at the end of the 25 year agreement they are required to drop the price that 45cents.
So by the rational..
of the government, shouldn't auto parts suppliers be considered 'manufacturers' too? I mean, you can build most if not all of a car from one, can you not? Shouldn't the taxes and fees that come with a new car purchase thus be applied to the auto parts suppliers as well? How about requiring, say, a 'registration' for each purchase, of any part, from them? I hope the 'black market' for cigarettes is thriving, I really do. If anyone can purchase ANYTHING without the tentacles of the government getting their greedy mitts on it, I'm all for it. The government's policy on taxation for tobacco has gone beyond the reasonable, so if someone endeavors to 'fight the power', count me in!
Words "DO" Have Meanings!
Would you "Piloteers" please teach your undereducated young'uns that 200 cigarettes = 1 carton, NOT "a case"? Thank you!
Yup
I made that observation on the other story done about this earlier.