October 13th, 2011
Convenience Store News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) on its interpretation of the use of warning letters and multiple violations for tobacco retailers.
The comments were prompted by the FDA’s indication that tobacco retailers could be penalized for multiple violations found during a single inspection, something NACS said it does not believe is allowable under current written law.
October 2nd, 2011
Cook County has found a new way to make money: by cracking down on stores that aren’t paying cigarette taxes. At the urging of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office, the sheriff’s office has fined retailers almost $400,000 in the first three weeks of the project. In 2010, the county collected $1.6 million for the entire year.
Sheriff Tom Dart said Friday that in 2006, the county made $200 million from cigarette taxes. But in 2010, that number was down to $126 million. That $74 million decrease can’t just be attributed to factors like the struggling economy and tighter regulations on smoking, reasoned Preckwinkle.
September 28th, 2011
Maryland officials on Thursday announced the indictments of nine people accused of cigarette smuggling in connection with a stepped-up effort to cut down on the illicit tobacco trade.
In the last fiscal year, Maryland’s comptroller’s office arrested 115 people for cigarette smuggling, double the number it arrested the year before, as officials see more people resorting to profitable black-market sales.
“There is an explosion of cigarette smuggling going on,” said Maryland Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot, whose office enforces state cigarette and tobacco tax laws. “I’m not sure if it’s the bad economy or the fact that Virginia has the lowest tax rate in the country and Maryland has one of the highest.”
