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2008 TOBACCO RETAILING ISSUES Halt Unlicensed, Unregulated, Untaxed Sales of Retail Products The state Tax Department is shirking its obligation to equally
enforce the tax law by refusing to collect taxes on Native American sales
of gas and cigarettes to non-Native American New Yorkers. The tax evasion
epidemic has crippled the convenience store industry and is growing worse
by the day. New York must level the playing field. The tax fairness law must be enforced. Reject Higher Taxes and Fees Impacting C-Stores and Their Customers Increasing
the state cigarette excise tax rate even further before solving the tax
evasion problem would be reckless and irresponsible. The last two cigarette tax increases
(2000 and 2002) proved self-defeating because of the abundance of tax-free
sources of cigarettes readily available to New Yorkers. Moreover, the
idea of allowing county-level cigarette excise taxes - above and beyond
state taxes - as proposed by some New York counties would create greater incentives to smokers to evade taxes
while imposing new logistical burdens on cigarette stamping agents and the
tax-collecting retail stores they supply.
For 20 years, the Cigarette Marketing Standards Act has discriminated against mom-and-pop stores by forcing them to pay suppliers a higher wholesale price for cigarettes than larger retail chains they compete with. With single-store operators comprising two-thirds of our retail membership, NYACS supports amending the CMSA to establish one, uniform wholesale price level that is acceptable to all NYACS member retailers and wholesalers. In addition, NYACS seeks to increase the state minimum retail markup on cigarettes from the current 7% to 18%, due to escalating costs of doing business. NYACS also supports a concurrent modest increase in the wholesale markup, keeping in mind that in 2002 the wholesale industry received a substantial boost in the form of a statutory 20¢-per-carton "handling fee" paid by retailers to wholesalers. Enact Civil Penalties for Minors Who Possess or Attempt to Buy Tobacco Products, Rather Than Changing the Legal Purchase Age Preventing youth access to tobacco should be a shared responsibility among retailers, their employees, the community, and young people themselves. Since most underage smokers get cigarettes not from stores, but from adult relatives or acquaintances, the only way to stop teen smoking is to stop teens who are smoking. Therefore, New York must make it illegal for minors to possess and/or use tobacco, as 45 states already do. Memorandum of Support for Underage Possession Law Restore Fairness and Balance to Tobacco Enforcement A.) Establish uniform, statewide standards for tobacco enforcement
Oppose
Further Marketing Restrictions on Retailers and Wholesalers • Extension of MSA restrictions to retailers and wholesalers • Confining sales of cigarettes to "tobacco-only" stores • Unwarranted packaging and labeling regulations Home - About NYACS - Trade Show - The Industry - Membership - Contact Us - Issues - Tools
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