An Act to Increase the Tax on All Tobacco Products
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0209
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: SUSLOVIC, STRIMLING, CUMMINGS, DUDLEY, FAIRCLOTH, LA VERRIERE-BOUCHER, PERRY, PINGREE, SIMPSON
Amends: 36 MRSA §4365, 36 MRSA §4365-E, 36 MRSA §4365-F, 36 MRSA §4366-A, 36 MRSA §4366-D, 36 MRSA §4403

Legislative Document 
No. 209 
H.P.168 
House of Representati ves, January 21, 2003 
An Act to Increase the Tax on All Tobacco Products 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative SUSLOVIC of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator STRIMLING of Cumberland and 
/JJ~ 
/J1.1ll&:~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CUMMINGS of Portland, DUDLEY of Portland, FAIRCLOTH of Bangor, 
LA VERRIERE-BOUCHER of Biddeford, PERRY of Calais, PINGREE of North Haven, 
SIMPSON of Auburn. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §4365, as amended by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. 
SSSS, §1 and affected by §4, 1S further amended to read: 
§4365. 
Rate of tax 
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 41-
62.5 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 
anyone 
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. 2. 36 MRSA §4365-E, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. 
SSSS, §2, is repealed. 
Sec.3. 36 MRSA §4365-F is enacted to read: 
§4365-F. 
Application of cigarette tax rate increase effective 
October 1. 2003 
The following provisions apply to cigarettes held for resale 
on October 1, 2003. 
1. 
Stamped rate. 
Cigarettes stamped at the rate of 
mills per cigarette and held for resale after September 30, 2003 
are subject to tax at the rate of 62.5 mills per cigarette. 
2. 
Liability. 
A person possessing cigarettes for resale is 
liable for the difference between the tax rate of 62.5 mills per 
cigarette and the tax rate of 50 mills per cigarette in effect 
before October 1, 2003. 
Stamps indicating payment of the tax 
imposed by this section must be affixed to all packages of 
cigarettes held for resale as of October 
L 
2003, 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, 2003 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 62.5 mills per cigarette placed in vending 
machines before October 1, 2003. 
Page l-LR041l(1) 
4. 
Payment. 
Payment of the tax imposed by this section 
must be made to the State Tax Assessor by January 1, 
2004, 
accompanied by forms prescribed by the assessor. 
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §4366-A, sub-§2, 1[1[B and C, as enacted by PL 
2001, c. 439, Pt. SSSS, §3, are amended to read: 
B. 
For stamps at the face value of 47 mills sold prior to 
July 1, 2002, 2.16%; aBa 
C. 
For stamps at the face value of 47 mills sold on or 
after July 1, 2002, 2.03%TL 
Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §4366-A, sub-§2, 1[1[D and E are enacted to read: 
D. 
For stamps at the face value of 62.5 mills sold prior to 
July 1, 2003, 1.62%: and 
E. 
For stamps at the face value of 62.5 mills sold on or 
after July 1, 2003, 1.52%. 
Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §4366-D, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 450, Pt. 
D, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 7. 36 MRSA §4403, sub-§§l and 2, as amended by PL 1989, c. 
588, Pt. D, §4, are further amended to read: 
1. 
Smokeless tobacco. 
A tax is imposed on all smokeless 
tobacco, including chewing tobacco and snuff, at the rate of 50°" 
of the wholesale sales price beginning October 1, 1989; 
55°'0 of 
the wholesale sales price beginning January 1, 1991; aBa 62°0 of 
the wholesale sales price beginning July 1, 1991: and 77.5°0 of 
the wholesale sales price beginning October 1, 2003. 
2. 
and other 
wholesale 
wholesale 
wholesale 
wholesale 
Other tobacco. 
A tax is imposed on cigars, pipe tobacco 
tobacco intended for smoking at the rate of 13% of the 
sales price beginning October 1, 
1989; 
14% 
of 
the 
sales price beginning January 1, 1991; aBa 16°0 of the 
sales price beginning July 1, 
1991; 
and 20°" of the 
sales price beginning October 2003. 
Sec. 8. Effective date. 
That section of this Act that amends 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 4365 takes effect 
October 1, 2003. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco 
products by 25~. 
This translates to an additional tax of 25¢ per 
pack of 20 cigarettes. 
The tax increase takes effect October 1, 
2003.