HOUSE BILL NO. 68
INTRODUCED BY COBB J
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT INCREASING THE CIGARETTE TAX; SUBMITTING THE TAX INCREASE TO THE ELECTORATE; AMENDING SECTION 16-11-111, MCA; PROVIDING A CONTINGENT VOIDNESS PROVISION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 16-11-111, MCA, is amended to read:
"16-11-111. Cigarette sales tax -- exemption for sale to tribal member. (1) A tax on the purchase of cigarettes for
consumption, use, or any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business is imposed and must be precollected by
the wholesaler and paid to the state of Montana. The tax is 18 23.5 cents on each package containing 20 cigarettes and,
when packages contain more or less than 20 cigarettes, a tax on each cigarette equal to 1/20th the tax on a package
containing 20 cigarettes.
(2) The tax imposed in subsection (1) does not apply to quota cigarettes.
(3) Subject to the refund or credit provided in subsection (4), the tax must be precollected on all cigarettes entering a Montana Indian reservation.
(4) Pursuant to the procedure provided in subsection (5), a wholesaler making a sale of cigarettes to a retailer within the boundaries of a Montana Indian reservation may apply to the department for a refund or credit for taxes precollected on cigarettes sold by the retailer to a member of the federally recognized Indian tribe or tribes on whose reservation the sale is made. A wholesaler who does not file a claim within 1 year of the shipment date forfeits the refund or credit.
(5) The distribution of tax-free cigarettes to a tribal member must be implemented through a system of preapproved wholesaler shipments. A licensed Montana wholesaler shall contact the department for approval prior to the shipment of the untaxed cigarettes. The department may authorize sales based on whether the quota, as established in a cooperative agreement between the department and an Indian tribe or as set out in this chapter, has been met. If authorized as a tax-exempt sale, the wholesaler, upon providing proof of order and delivery to a retailer within the boundaries of a Montana Indian reservation selling cigarettes to members of a federally recognized tribe or tribes of that reservation, must be given a credit or refund. Once the quota has been filled, the department shall immediately notify all affected wholesalers that further sales on that reservation must be taxed and that a claim for a refund or credit will not be honored for the remainder of the quota period. Quota allocations are not transferable between quota periods or between reservations.
(6) The total amount of refunds or credits allowed by the department to all wholesalers claiming the refund or credit under subsection (4) for any month may not exceed an amount that is equal to the tax due on the quota allocation. The department shall determine the amount of refunds or credits for each Indian reservation at the beginning of each fiscal year, using the most recent census data available from the bureau of Indian affairs or as provided in a cooperative agreement with the tribe or tribes of the Indian reservation."
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Submission to electorate. This act shall be submitted to the qualified electors of Montana at the tax election to be held in 1999 by printing on the ballot the full title of this act and the following:
SHALL THE CIGARETTE TAX BE INCREASED ANNUALLY BY 5.5 CENTS, CAPPED AT 23.5 CENTS A PACK, IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER?
[] FOR increasing the cigarette tax from 18 cents to 23.5 cents.
[] AGAINST increasing the cigarette tax from 18 cents to 23.5 cents.
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Contingent voidness. If Constitutional Initiative No. 75, enacting Article VIII, section 17, of the Montana constitution, is declared invalid, then this act is void.
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Effective date. If approved by the electorate, [this act] is effective July 1, 1999.
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Latest Version of HB 68 (HB0068.01)
Processed for the Web on December 7, 1998 (12:40PM)
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Status of this Bill
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