North Carolina - may reinroduce cigarett tax stamps this time..

April 15, 2011 - A bill that aims at reinstating cigarette tax stamps has been introduced in the General Assembly of North Carolina, reports the Winston-Salem Journal.

North Carolina is one of three states which do not use cigarette stamps to collect excise tax. The General Assembly eliminated it in 1993, arguing that the revenue produced from the excise tax - which at that time was USD 0.05 a pack - was not worth the administrative, logistics and enforcement costs of the stamps.

The tax is now USD 0.45 a pack and analysts say annual excise-tax revenue worth USD 1 million could be gained by reviving the stamp.

A similar bill aiming at curbing cigarette smuggling into North Carolina was introduced in 2010, but never got out of committee. However, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Philip Morris USA have now added their support. (North Carolina - may restore tax stamp to reduce smuggling...)

Reference: North Carolina may revive tax stamps>, Tobacco Journal International, 4/14/2011.