AB 1901, as introduced, Quirk. Taxation: cigarettes: unaffixed stamps.
The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax on distributors of cigarettes at the rate of $0.87 per package of 20 cigarettes. That law requires that tax be paid through the use of stamps or meter impressions, and requires that these stamps or meter impressions be affixed to each package of cigarettes distributed. That law also imposes a fine of up to $50,000, as specified, or imprisonment not to exceed one year in county jail, or both, for possessing, selling, or buying false or fraudulent cigarette tax stamps or meter impressions, and requires the destruction by the State Board of Equalization of any stamps seized. Existing law requires any fines assessed to be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, amounts in which are available for specified expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would extend those penalties for possessing, selling, or buying unaffixed cigarette tax stamps, and would require any fines assessed to be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund. This bill would require the board to destroy any unaffixed cigarette tax stamps.
By expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 30473.5 of the Revenue and Taxation
2Code is amended to read:
(a) Any person who possesses, sells, or offers to sell,
4or buys or offers to buy, anybegin delete false or fraudulentend deletebegin insert false, fraudulent,
5or unaffixedend insert stamps or meter impressions provided for or
6authorized under this part in a quantity of less than 2,000 is guilty
7of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand
8dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a
9county jail, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
10(b) Any person who possesses, sells, or offers to sell, or buys
11or offers to buy anybegin delete false or fraudulentend deletebegin insert
false, fraudulent, or
12unaffixedend insert stamps or meter impressions provided for or authorized
13under this part in a quantity of 2,000 or greater, is guilty of a
14misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand
15dollars ($50,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a
16county jail, or by both the fine and imprisonment. The court shall
17order any fines assessed be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco
18Products Compliance Fund.
19(c) For purposes of this section, “unaffixed stamps” do not
20include any unused and unapplied rolls of stamps or loose stamps
21in the possession of a licensed distributor.
22(c)
end delete23begin insert(d)end insert The board shall destroy any stamps seized under this section.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
25Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
26the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
27district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
28infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
29for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
30the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P3 1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.
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