Tobacco.org

Bill takes aim at cigarette smugglers  

A new law targeting cigarette smugglers has cleared both houses of the General Assembly and now goes to the governor for his signature.

The House of Delegates on Wednesday joined the Senate in unanimously passing Senate Bill 476, sponsored by Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Midlothian.

The bill would establish additional penalties for "any person who sells, purchases, transports, receives, or possesses unstamped cigarettes" in Virginia.

Cigarettes are stamped in most states to ensure that the tax on them has been paid. If a pack of cigarettes is sold in Virginia without a stamp, that means no tax has been paid to the commonwealth.

In Virginia, the tax on a pack of cigarettes is 30 cents. In South Carolina, the tax per pack is 7 cents, and that state doesn't stamp its cigarettes. Smugglers often purchase cigarettes in states with low tobacco taxes and sell them illegally in states with higher tobacco taxes, pocketing the difference as profit.

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