Premimum snuff tax won’t increase
State Rep. Tommy Thompson, D-Owensboro
FRANKFORT — Kentucky fans of Copenhagen and Skoal can spit easy. A proposed tax increase on premium snuff was rejected Tuesday by a House committee.
A bill that would tax moist, smokeless tobacco in the same manner as other types of smokeless tobacco was defeated by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Tuesday by a 14-12 vote.
Under House Bill 296, the tax on premium, moist snuff would have been charged based on price rather than weight. That change would have increased the tax from 19 cents to about 29 cents a tin.
When lawmakers decided to tax smokeless tobacco in 2005, lower-grade smokeless tobacco, such as Longhorn, was taxed based on its price while premium moist tobacco was taxed based on weight. The move gave companies that produce such brands as Copenhagen and Skoal an advantage, according to makers of other smokeless tobacco products.
Democratic Rep. Tommy Thompson of Owensboro, the sponsor of HB 296, has several smokeless tobacco manufacturers in his district. The companies that make smokeless tobacco and employ hundreds of Kentucky employees should not be at a disadvantage to other producers, which do not have manufacturing facilities in Kentucky, he said.
“It’s about Kentucky jobs,” Thompson said. “It’s about equitable taxes.”
Thompson noted that the overall tax on a can of Longhorn is 18 percent of its value, compared to 8 percent for a tin of Copenhagen.
Rep. Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, said the issue of how to tax premium snuff products was heavily debated when the tax was passed in 2005. Moberly said lawmakers ultimately decided to tax premium snuff products based on unit weights because those products generally use Kentucky-grown tobacco. Other smokeless tobacco is generally grown elsewhere.
Rep. Don Pasley, D-Winchester, agreed. “Copenhagen is sold all over the United States but that tobacco is grown here,” Pasley said.
Several Kentucky “dark” tobacco growers urged defeat of the bill, noting that U.S. Smokeless Tobacco — which processes the “dark” tobacco for Copenhagen and Skoal — buys its tobacco from 583 Kentucky farmers.
The measure needed 15 votes to clear the committee. Thompson said after Tuesday’s meeting that he may try to find a way to resurrect the bill.
– Beth Musgrave
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Leo | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
how much these legislators got from tobacco companies?
Nathan Lipscombe | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
We’re talking ten cents a can difference to the consumer and what difference in tax revenue to the state?
mdbran | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
Great pic. Do they not have barbers in Owensboro?
good ole boys | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
These guys just kill me. I remember this discussion a year or 2 ago and I thought it was Harry Moberly that was the sponsor of the bill to make this change and now he’s voting against it. Good thing he’s retiring. He can’t remember which side he’s on. Maybe he has found a new job with US Tobacco.
handiman | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
I think desperation has set in with the budget.
Big Ben 4 liberty | Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
Can these idiots in Frankfort do something other than attempt to raise and impose new taxes?
tax reduction | Feb 11, 2010 | Reply
I wanted to see who was wanting to raise tobacco taxes and again so I went to the KET website and watched this committee discussion (or should I say circus). I was surprised to hear that the bill would have actually lowered the tax on the Red Man that I buy and lots of other tobacco products but was shot down by the legislators in the pockets of big tobacco Phillip Morris so that their snuff can be taxed cheaper than their competitors. When are our legislators going to start looking out for the majority of the citizens instead of big companies like Phillip Morris? What a disgrace. For a chance we had someone who wanted to lower the taxes and watch out for Kentucky workers from what it sounded like. I’m not surprised that the H-L couldn’t get it right. They made this story about the tax on 2 products going up instead of the tax on lots of others going down. These legislators need to get out of the back pockets of big companies and get on the side of the people. That clown Representative Posley was the biggest disgrace of all. He offended me and I wasn’t even there. What a joke. I don’t know where he’s from, but I’m glad he’s not representing me.