TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A turf war pitting tobacco companies against each other could affect the price of smokeless tobacco products in Florida, reported The Ledger.
For now, a lawmaker is holding up debate on a bill and lobbyists and public relations firms are being hired to fight for legislative support. Pushing the issue is U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. (USSTC), a Greenwich, Conn.-based company that has more than 60% of the smokeless tobacco market with its Skoal brand.
In Florida and almost 40 other states, smokeless tobacco is [image-nocss] taxed at a percentage of its wholesale price to retailers, said the report. A convenience store, for example, pays an excise tax of 25% on each can of Skoal it purchases at a cost of about $3about 75 cents in tax. But in the past decade, other tobacco companies have entered the market, primarily with lower-cost products, the newspaper added. For example, a can of Swisher's Silver Creek or Kayak may cost a retailer only $1 with an excise tax of 25 cents.
A bill filed in the Florida House would set a flat rate of 49 cents per ounce for all moist smokeless tobacco, or dip, the report said. The likely result would be a drop in prices of Skoal and other high-end brands, but an increase in the cost of cheaper products, according to the Ledger.
USSTC said it is a matter of fairness and not a tool to gain market share. Swisher, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Swedish Match have lobbied against the changes, the report said.
As chairman of the Jobs & Entrepreneurship Council, State Representative Ron Reagan (R) decides if the bill gets a hearing in a committee. So far, he has stopped that from happening. Why do we just want to take the people who are purchasing this inexpensive product, generally the people who cannot afford the expensive product, and now we're going to jump them up 50 to 75 cents?, Reagan said. That's a reason for us not to go forward.
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