Sec. SSSS-1. 36 MRSA §4365, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §31, is further amended to read:
A tax is imposed on all cigarettes imported into this State or held in this State by any person for sale at the rate of 37 47 mills for each cigarette. Payment of the tax is evidenced by the affixing of stamps to the packages containing the cigarettes. If an individual purchases in any one month unstamped packages containing cigarettes in a quantity greater than 2 cartons from a person other than a licensed distributor or dealer, the tax may be assessed directly against the purchaser by the State Tax Assessor within 3 years from the date of the purchase.
Sec. SSSS-2. 36 MRSA §4365-E is enacted to read:
§4365-E. Application of cigarette tax rate increase effective October 1, 2001
The following provisions apply to cigarettes held for resale on October 1, 2001.
1. Stamped rate. Cigarettes stamped at the rate of 37 mills per cigarette and held for resale after September 30, 2001 are subject to tax at the rate of 47 mills per cigarette.
2. Liability. A person possessing cigarettes for resale is liable for the difference between the tax rate of 47 mills per cigarette and the tax rate of 37 mills per cigarette in effect before October 1, 2001. Stamps indicating payment of the tax imposed by this section must be affixed to all packages of cigarettes held for resale as of October 1, 2001, except that cigarettes held in vending machines as of that date do not require that stamp.
3. Vending machines. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it is presumed that all cigarette vending machines are filled to capacity on October 1, 2001 and that the tax imposed by this section must be reported on that basis. A credit against this inventory tax must be allowed for cigarettes stamped at the rate of 47 mills per cigarette placed in vending machines before October 1, 2001.
4. Payment. Payment of the tax imposed by this section must be made to the State Tax Assessor by January 1, 2002, accompanied by forms prescribed by the assessor.
Sec. SSSS-3. 36 MRSA §4366-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 458, §10, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2. Provided to sellers. The State Tax Assessor shall provide stamps suitable to be affixed to packages of cigarettes as evidence of the payment of the tax imposed by this chapter. The assessor may permit a licensed distributor to pay for the stamps within 30 days after the date of purchase, if a bond satisfactory to the assessor in an amount not less than the sale price of the stamps has been filed with the assessor conditioned upon payment for the stamps. The assessor shall sell cigarette stamps to licensed distributors at the following discounts from their face value:
A. For stamps at the face value of 37 mills sold through September 30, 2001, 2.5%;
B. For stamps at the face value of 47 mills sold prior to July 1, 2002, 2.16%; and
C. For stamps at the face value of 47 mills sold on or after July 1, 2002, 2.03%.
Sec. SSSS-4. Effective date. That section of this Part that amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 4365 takes effect October 1, 2001.
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