Roll-your own cigarette stores, facing an expensive legal

Roll-your own cigarettes stores are alert throughout the United States, and the bill could hurt those businesses in Louisiana.
Measures in the United States in respect of stores - which allow customers to buy tobacco, cigarette tubes and time machines, capable of rolling 200 cigarettes in 10 minutes - were legal and powered by the court. The fight involves health and safety issues, but the authorities and business owners say it comes down to tax revenues.

Louisiana House Bill 1170 would require retailers who offer access to mills using only roll your own (RYO) tobacco approved by the Office of the Attorney General of Louisiana. It will also require pipes are used for cigarettes to be made of paper is determined by the State Fire Marshal.
"If it passes, our costs will increase, no doubt," Local RYO Cigarette Smoke 4 Less Shop Partner Aaron said Tatum. "Will it increase them enough to be subject to the ban remains to be seen?"
The bill was written to replace the other law repealed earlier this year.
If passed, HB 488 would amend the law of Louisiana to include shops RYO cigarettes under the definition of cigarette manufacturers. Louisiana RYO store owners believe that this reclassification would significantly close them because of their small businesses do not have the strength and resources to adhere to strict regulations on manufacturers.

Rep. Bob Louisiana Hensgens, author of HB 488 and HB 1170, did not return phone calls requesting information about the accounts.
"In some countries were more aggressive actions against the deployment of its own stores, because they are losing real money," said Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Agent Jedd Faulk. "In Louisiana, we are closer to revenue neutral, so you do not see the action of the court and seize vehicles."
Office of the Attorney General of Louisiana refused to comment on this story because of the pending legislation.

New York lawyers have filed a lawsuit this year against dozens of shops RYO claiming that they had evaded paying tax rates of pipe tobacco.
In Arizona and Washington state legislatures propose to revise the bills RYO stores manufacturers.
On Friday, Kansas Fire Department was closed for about 20 Cigarette retailers in the state, citing a fire out of the car.

Tax question
Customers can leave the store RYO of cigarettes for half the price of a normal purchase. RYO cigarette stores are able to do this is partly due to the federal tax loophole, depending on the type of tobacco sold.
At the federal level, "the amount of tobacco smoking", packaged for use in the cigarette-rolling is taxed at a rate of $ 24.74 per pound. The same tobacco for use in a pipe or a cigar - and sold in stores Cigarette - is taxed at a rate of $ 2.83 per pound.
"The intention to use is the determining factor," said Falk. "

Taxation of tobacco depends on the state of the state. In Louisiana, bulk tobacco is taxed at 33 percent of the account, regardless of its use are labeled. This figure puts Louisiana close to the other states; income is the difference comes from a small pink mark on the bottom of a pack of cigarettes.

Each cigarette in Louisiana, is taxed at 0.018 cents, and the law requires cigarettes sold in packages of at least 20. Pink punch is equivalent to about 36 cents of state income tax from wholesalers in Louisiana Department of Revenue, or about $ 3.60 per carton - one of the lowest tax rates in the country.
Tatum said that it takes eight ounces of tobacco to build a box with their machines.
He said he pays about $ 60 for a five pound bag of tobacco equal to $ 19.80 in state tax revenues. This is equivalent to $ 1.98 in state excise tax per carton.
For comparison, Ohio cigarette tax stamps to ensure state revenue of $ 1.25 each, or $ 12.50 per box. Bulk tobacco is taxed at 17 percent of the bill.

In Ohio, RYO store, the same $ 60 five-pound bag of bulk tobacco is sold in Louisiana will generate $ 10.20 in state tax revenue - $ 1.02 per box.
"This earnings gap, where you will see a difference in how the state responds to the question," said Falk. "With the $ 11 gap, as Ohio State is much more likely to appeal to the courts and closing stores because they want the income now."

In addition to issues of taxation is the story of small businesses to corporate giants, Tatum said.
"This is a David and Goliath story," said Tatum. "People were rolling their cigarettes for good. Businesses like ours saw an opportunity to provide services, offering our cars with people, and big tobacco and convenience stores see us as a threat to their profits. So they close the reserve rule us."

Large corporations and the tobacco-shop chain is actively lobbying state and federal legislatures to regulate more strictly RYO shops.
"More regulation always means more spending," said Tatum. "If our costs increase, the cost of customers grows, and we lose our edge."
He and his partners have been successful in the Shreveport-Bossier, as they opened about a year ago, and Tatum said that they would like to open more stores in the area, but the bill can not take that risk.
"We pay all the taxes that we sell. We are absolutely playing by the rules, "said Tatum." Of course, tax laws are beneficial to us, but if you take it is not profitable to do what we do. We would have to shut down. "