NorcalMark
New Member
Here is a link to the pdf for the new cigarette tax(which includes other tobacco products, which are linked together)
The CAA(Cigar Assocation of America has been working really hard at trying to get a 50 cent a stick tax cap on all cigars.
Section 12 of the the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006 is the kicker as to why the CAA can't obtain the tax cap of 50 cents
The tobacco tax act of 2006 has not obtained enough signatures to be added to the November ballot so it has no proposition number yet. When it does obtain enough signatures (because it will, why because it's for the children) it will have a prop number and I will post it here.
http://ag.ca.gov/initiatives/pdf/sa2005rf0139_1-ns.pdf
Here is a letter from Chris McCalla RTDA Legislative Director to further explain the situation we call all understand.
March 22, 2006
Dear California RTDA member:
I regret to inform you that our efforts for securing a premium cigar tax cap in California are all but dead at this time. Upon further review and scrutiny of the proposed tobacco tax increase initiative by California tax attorneys and Cigar Association of America (CAA) legal counsel, language was identified that presents “an insurmountable obstacle” preventing any efforts of a state-approved cigar tax cap.
In the initiative, Section 12 states that “unless otherwise stated, all references in this Act (The Tobacco Tax Act of 2006) to existing statutes are to statutes as they existed on December 31, 2005.”
In plain English, this means that, if this initiative is approved by voters, Section 12 of the initiative would freeze all tobacco taxes that were in effect as of December 31, 2005 and make those rates unchangeable until after the November 2006 elections. This “Teflon” clause would thus nullify any legislation on tobacco taxes passed between now and November general election. Simply put, even if our efforts paid off in a tax cap being signed into law, effective August 1, 2006, it would be overridden by the initiative.
Section 12 places a severe restriction on the ability of the California State Assembly to make any logical amendments or reconsiderations in tobacco taxes this year. According to the attorney who drafted the initiative, this was precisely the intent of the proponents of this initiative.
The State Assembly’s hands are further tied by language in the initiative that states most of the initiative’s provisions, including sections directly related to tobacco taxes, may only be amended by another voter initiative and not by the democratic due process of the state’s legislative body, setting a dangerous precedent for future draconian initiative proposals.
The ballot initiative process signed into law in 1911 by then Governor Hiram Johnson, after being overwhelmingly approved by state voters in 1910, was designed and intended to prevent what is happening today with this initiative—to end the controlling power and influence of special interest groups and their “slush funds.” California’s initiative process that was once a safeguard against special interest’s big money, ensuring the democratic process in California, is being manipulated and exploited by special interest groups that it was originally intended to stop.
We have not given up all hope as we, CAA, and California lobbyists continue to consider all alternative strategies to combat this ballot initiative, including challenging Section 12’s dangerous impenetrability.
Sincerely,
Chris McCalla Legislative Director
The CAA(Cigar Assocation of America has been working really hard at trying to get a 50 cent a stick tax cap on all cigars.
Section 12 of the the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006 is the kicker as to why the CAA can't obtain the tax cap of 50 cents
The tobacco tax act of 2006 has not obtained enough signatures to be added to the November ballot so it has no proposition number yet. When it does obtain enough signatures (because it will, why because it's for the children) it will have a prop number and I will post it here.
http://ag.ca.gov/initiatives/pdf/sa2005rf0139_1-ns.pdf
Here is a letter from Chris McCalla RTDA Legislative Director to further explain the situation we call all understand.
March 22, 2006
Dear California RTDA member:
I regret to inform you that our efforts for securing a premium cigar tax cap in California are all but dead at this time. Upon further review and scrutiny of the proposed tobacco tax increase initiative by California tax attorneys and Cigar Association of America (CAA) legal counsel, language was identified that presents “an insurmountable obstacle” preventing any efforts of a state-approved cigar tax cap.
In the initiative, Section 12 states that “unless otherwise stated, all references in this Act (The Tobacco Tax Act of 2006) to existing statutes are to statutes as they existed on December 31, 2005.”
In plain English, this means that, if this initiative is approved by voters, Section 12 of the initiative would freeze all tobacco taxes that were in effect as of December 31, 2005 and make those rates unchangeable until after the November 2006 elections. This “Teflon” clause would thus nullify any legislation on tobacco taxes passed between now and November general election. Simply put, even if our efforts paid off in a tax cap being signed into law, effective August 1, 2006, it would be overridden by the initiative.
Section 12 places a severe restriction on the ability of the California State Assembly to make any logical amendments or reconsiderations in tobacco taxes this year. According to the attorney who drafted the initiative, this was precisely the intent of the proponents of this initiative.
The State Assembly’s hands are further tied by language in the initiative that states most of the initiative’s provisions, including sections directly related to tobacco taxes, may only be amended by another voter initiative and not by the democratic due process of the state’s legislative body, setting a dangerous precedent for future draconian initiative proposals.
The ballot initiative process signed into law in 1911 by then Governor Hiram Johnson, after being overwhelmingly approved by state voters in 1910, was designed and intended to prevent what is happening today with this initiative—to end the controlling power and influence of special interest groups and their “slush funds.” California’s initiative process that was once a safeguard against special interest’s big money, ensuring the democratic process in California, is being manipulated and exploited by special interest groups that it was originally intended to stop.
We have not given up all hope as we, CAA, and California lobbyists continue to consider all alternative strategies to combat this ballot initiative, including challenging Section 12’s dangerous impenetrability.
Sincerely,
Chris McCalla Legislative Director
I'm going out on a limb here to say that it was intentional.
