Senate Bill S2665

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2665

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 26, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
  ment Operations

AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing the  tax  imposed
  upon  the  sale  or  use of cigarettes; and to amend the state finance
  law, in relation to the tobacco use  prevention  and  control  program
  fund

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 471 of the tax law, as amended  by
section  1 of part RR-1 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is amended to
read as follows:
  1. There is hereby imposed and shall be paid a tax on  all  cigarettes
possessed  in the state by any person for sale, except that no tax shall
be imposed on cigarettes sold under such circumstances that  this  state
is without power to impose such tax or sold to the United States or sold
to  or by a voluntary unincorporated organization of the armed forces of
the United States operating a place for the sale of  goods  pursuant  to
regulations  promulgated  by  the  appropriate  executive  agency of the
United States, to the extent provided in  such  regulations  and  policy
statements of such an agency applicable to such sales. Such tax on ciga-
rettes  shall  be  at the rate of [two] THREE dollars and [seventy-five]
FIFTY cents for each twenty cigarettes or  fraction  thereof,  provided,
however, that if a package of cigarettes contains more than twenty ciga-
rettes,  the  rate of tax on the cigarettes in such package in excess of
twenty shall be [sixty-eight] EIGHTY-SEVEN and [three-quarters] ONE-HALF
cents for each five cigarettes or fraction thereof. Such tax is intended
to be imposed upon only one sale of the same package of  cigarettes.  It
shall  be  presumed  that all cigarettes within the state are subject to
tax until the contrary is established, and the burden of proof that  any

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06325-01-9

              

S. 2665                             2

cigarettes  are  not  taxable  hereunder  shall  be  upon  the person in
possession thereof.
  S  2.  Section  471-a  of the tax law, as amended by section 2 of part
RR-1 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 471-a. Use tax on cigarettes. There is hereby imposed and  shall  be
paid  a  tax  on  all cigarettes used in the state by any person, except
that no tax shall be imposed (1) if the tax  provided  in  section  four
hundred  seventy-one  of  this  article is paid, (2) on the use of ciga-
rettes which are exempt from the tax imposed by said section, or (3)  on
the  use  of four hundred or less cigarettes, brought into the state on,
or in the possession of, any person. Such tax on cigarettes shall be  at
the  rate of [two] THREE dollars and [seventy-five] FIFTY cents for each
twenty cigarettes or fraction thereof,  provided,  however,  that  if  a
package  of cigarettes contains more than twenty cigarettes, the rate of
tax on the cigarettes in such package  in  excess  of  twenty  shall  be
[sixty-eight]  EIGHTY-SEVEN and [three-quarters] ONE-HALF cents for each
five cigarettes or fraction thereof.   Within  twenty-four  hours  after
liability  for  the  tax  accrues,  each such person shall file with the
commissioner a return in such form as  the  commissioner  may  prescribe
together  with  a  remittance  of  the  tax shown to be due thereon. For
purposes of this article, the word "use" means the exercise of any right
or power actual or constructive and shall include but is not limited  to
the receipt, storage or any keeping or retention for any length of time,
but  shall not include possession for sale. All other provisions of this
article if not  inconsistent  shall  apply  to  the  administration  and
enforcement  of the tax imposed by this section in the same manner as if
the language of said provisions had been incorporated in full into  this
section.
  S  3. Section 482 of the tax law, as amended by section 3 of part RR-1
of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 482. Deposit and disposition of revenue. All taxes,  fees,  interest
and penalties collected or received by the commissioner under this arti-
cle and article twenty-A of this chapter shall be deposited and disposed
of  pursuant  to  the provisions of section one hundred seventy-one-a of
this chapter. From  the  taxes,  interest  and  penalties  collected  or
received by the commissioner under sections four hundred seventy-one and
four hundred seventy-one-a of this article, effective on and after March
first, two thousand, forty-nine and fifty-five hundredths, and effective
on  and  after February first, two thousand two, forty-three and seventy
hundredths; and effective on and after  May  first,  two  thousand  two,
sixty-four  and  fifty-five hundredths; and effective on and after April
first, two thousand three, sixty-one and twenty-two hundredths  percent;
and  effective  on  and  after  June [third] FIRST, two thousand [eight]
NINE, [seventy] FIFTY-FIVE and [sixty-three hundredths] ONE-HALF percent
collected or received under such sections  shall  be  deposited  to  the
credit  of  the  tobacco  control  and  insurance initiatives pool to be
established and distributed by the commissioner of health in  accordance
with  section  twenty-eight  hundred  seven-v  of the public health law.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED  SEVENTY-ONE-A  OF
THIS  CHAPTER, TWENTY-ONE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT OF THE TAXES COLLECTED OR
RECEIVED BY THE COMMISSIONER PURSUANT TO SECTIONS FOUR HUNDRED  SEVENTY-
ONE  AND FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE-A OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE CREDITED TO
AND DEPOSITED IN THE TOBACCO USE PREVENTION  AND  CONTROL  PROGRAM  FUND
ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION EIGHTY-SIX OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW.
  S  4.  The  state finance law is amended by adding a new section 86 to
read as follows:

S. 2665                             3

  S 86. TOBACCO USE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM  FUND.  1.  THERE  IS
HEREBY ESTABLISHED IN THE JOINT CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE
COMMISSIONER  OF  TAXATION AND FINANCE A SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE
"TOBACCO USE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM FUND".
  2.  THE  TOBACCO USE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM FUND SHALL CONSIST
OF MONEYS APPROPRIATED THERETO, AND FUNDS  TRANSFERRED  FROM  ANY  OTHER
FUND  OR  SOURCES INCLUDING TAX REVENUE REQUIRED TO BE DEPOSITED THEREIN
PURSUANT TO SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO OF THE TAX LAW.
  3. THE MONEYS RECEIVED BY SUCH FUND  SHALL  BE  EXPENDED  PURSUANT  TO
APPROPRIATION  ONLY  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF IMPLEMENTING THE TOBACCO USE
PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  THIRTEEN  HUNDRED
NINETY-NINE-II OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
  S  5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.