R.I. cigarette taxes going up

THE RHODE ISLAND cigarette excise tax, among the highest in the country, for a pack of 20 cigarettes increased 25 cents to $3.75 effective Aug. 1, according to the R.I. Division of Taxation, and additional taxes are being placed on cigarette retailers throughout the state.
THE RHODE ISLAND cigarette excise tax, among the highest in the country, for a pack of 20 cigarettes increased 25 cents to $3.75 effective Aug. 1, according to the R.I. Division of Taxation, and additional taxes are being placed on cigarette retailers throughout the state.

PROVIDENCE – The cost of smoking cigarettes in Rhode Island is likely going up, as new taxes effective this month are making the merchandise more expensive.
The Rhode Island cigarette excise tax, among the highest in the country, for a pack of 20 cigarettes increased 25 cents to $3.75 effective Aug. 1, according to the R.I. Division of Taxation, and additional taxes are being placed on cigarette retailers throughout the state.
The Federation of Tax Administrators in January ranked Rhode Island with the third-highest cigarette excise tax behind New York (No. 1) and Massachusetts (No. 2).
An inventory tax has also gone into effect for retailers and is measured by the number of cigarettes held by the retailer as of Aug. 1. The tax rate is now 25 cents per pack, or .0125 cents per cigarette.
Similarly, a tax will apply to the inventory of cigarette tax stamps – affixed or not – held by each distributor as of Aug. 1, according to the division. The floor tax for cigarette tax stamps is calculated at the same rate as the inventory tax.
“All wholesalers and retailers of cigarettes must file a return related to the floor tax with the Tax Administrator and pay the tax due,” according to the division.
The deadline to file is at or before midnight on Aug. 17.
Also effective Aug. 1 are new regulations on smoking bars. The bars must demonstrate quarterly for a year – and annually thereafter – that annual revenue generated from the sale of tobacco products is greater than 50 percent of the bar’s total revenue.
The bars must also show that the serving of food, alcohol and other beverages is “only incidental to the consumption of such tobacco products,” according to the division.
Smoking-bar owners must register no later than Jan. 1 of each year, according to the division.

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