PRINTER'S NO. 3794
No. 2485 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY J. TAYLOR, COY, BELFANTI, GANNON, GEORGE, DEMPSEY,
KENNEY, M. N. WRIGHT, STABACK, HARHAI, SAINATO, VAN HORNE,
LUCYK, LAUGHLIN, PETRONE, BOYES, ROONEY, RAMOS, STAIRS,
LaGROTTA, SCRIMENTI, DeLUCA, BARLEY, MUNDY, LEDERER,
LESCOVITZ, BUNT, RAYMOND, LAWLESS, ROBINSON, PRESTON, OLASZ,
CIVERA, WILT, ADOLPH, HALUSKA AND HENNESSEY, AUGUST 5, 1998
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, AUGUST 5, 1998
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State
3 government; providing for the settlement, assessment,
4 collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts
5 due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and
6 other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth,
7 or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the
8 proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other
9 disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the
10 possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims
11 against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and
12 appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to
13 the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth
14 and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
15 moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
16 and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
17 authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
18 to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
19 section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
20 Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
21 certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
22 department, board, commission, and officer of the State
23 government, every political subdivision of the State, and
24 certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
25 association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
26 collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
27 imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
28 other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
29 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
30 Commonwealth," further providing for definitions of "cost of
1 the retailer," "cost of the stamping agent" and "dealer,"
2 relating to cigarette sales and licensing.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. The definitions of "Cost of the Retailer," "Cost
6 of the Stamping Agent" and "Dealer" of section 202-A of the act
7 of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code,
8 added July 2, 1993 (P.L.250, No.46), are amended to read:
9 Section 202-A. Definitions.--As used in this article--
10 * * *
11 "Cost of the Retailer" shall mean the basic cost of
12 cigarettes to the retailer plus the cost of doing business by
13 the retailer in excess of the basic cost of cigarettes,
14 expressed as a percentage and applied to the basic cost of
15 cigarettes. In the absence of filing of satisfactory proof of a
16 lesser or higher cost of doing business by the retailer making
17 the sale, the cost of doing business by the retailer shall be
18 presumed to be [six] ten per centum of the basic cost of
19 cigarettes to the retailer. When a retailer establishes a lesser
20 cost of doing business than the presumptive six per centum cost
21 of doing business, such lesser cost of doing business may be
22 used to compute the cost of the retailer for a period of time no
23 greater than twelve months, at the end of which time the cost to
24 the retailer shall be computed using the presumptive [six] ten
25 per centum cost of doing business, unless the retailer again
26 establishes a lesser cost of doing business. Any fractional part
27 of a cent in such cost per carton shall be rounded off to the
28 next higher cent. In the case of any person who purchases
29 cigarettes for sale at retail from any manufacturer of
30 cigarettes without resort to a wholesaler as such, such person
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1 shall be deemed, for the purposes of this article, to be engaged
2 in the sale of cigarettes as a stamping agent, wholesaler and
3 retailer and as such shall be subject to all mark-up provisions
4 of this article in the order named.
5 "Cost of the Stamping Agent" shall mean the basic cost of
6 cigarettes plus the cost of doing business by the cigarette
7 stamping agent in excess of the basic cost of cigarettes,
8 expressed as a percentage and applied to the basic cost of
9 cigarettes. Any fractional part of a cent in the cost per carton
10 of cigarettes shall be rounded off to the next higher cent. In
11 the case of sales at retail by cigarette stamping agents, the
12 cost of the cigarette stamping agent shall be the same as the
13 cost of the retailer. There shall be determined a separate cost
14 of the cigarette stamping agent for sales to wholesale dealers
15 and for sales to retail dealers. In the absence of filing of
16 satisfactory proof of a lesser cost of doing business of the
17 cigarette stamping agent making the sale, the cost of doing
18 business shall be presumed to be one per centum of the basic
19 cost of cigarettes for sales to wholesale dealers and [four]
20 five per centum of the basic cost of cigarettes with respect to
21 sales to retail dealers. When a cigarette stamping agent
22 establishes a lesser cost of doing business than the presumptive
23 costs contained herein, such lesser cost of doing business may
24 be used to compute the cost of the cigarette stamping agent for
25 a period of time no greater than twelve months, at the end of
26 which time the cost of the cigarette stamping agent shall be
27 computed using the presumptive costs contained herein, unless
28 the cigarette stamping agent again establishes a lesser cost of
29 doing business.
30 * * *
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1 "Dealer" shall mean any cigarette stamping agency, wholesaler
2 or retailer as these terms are more specifically defined herein.
3 When used in this article, the term shall include all of the
4 above-mentioned categories. Nothing contained in this article
5 shall preclude any person from being a cigarette stamping
6 agency, wholesaler or retailer: Provided, That such person meets
7 the requirements for each category of dealer, and that, where a
8 person holds more than one license, the presumptive minimum
9 price shall be determined by the nature of the sales transaction
10 and not by the class of license involved in the transaction.
11 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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