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Act Now!

A vote on the PACT Act could happen any day! Contact your Senators and encourage them to support the passage of the PACT Act.

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E-mail your elected officials TODAY by completing the form at right to be matched to your legislators and clicking TAKE ACTION!

As excise taxes increase, so do the prices of tobacco products. Criminal organizations exploit these high costs by selling contraband or counterfeit tobacco products for their own financial gain. Contraband trafficking is a concern for our business, law enforcement and regulatory authorities and the legitimate wholesale and retail trade. This illicit activity deprives governments of tax revenue and hurts law-abiding businesses.

Congress is currently considering legislation to help combat the illegal sale of cigarettes. The “Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009” (the PACT Act), S. 1147 , would close a number of gaps in current federal law regulating “remote” or “delivery” sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The PACT Act has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 397 – 11 vote. The U.S. Senate is now considering the bill.

Remote sales include sales of untaxed or low-taxed cigarettes over the Internet, or by mail or telephone order, to consumers in higher tax areas, without paying the taxes owed where the consumer is located. Consumers are often unaware that they are personally liable for any applicable unpaid state excise taxes.

By closing loopholes in the current law, the PACT Act protects consumers, business owners, and state governments by:

Protecting legitimate channels of distribution for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco—including retailers and wholesalers – who are in full compliance with the law
Helping to eliminate illegal sales of tobacco products
Helping prevent underage access to tobacco on the Internet
Putting an end to illegal activities that cost your state tax revenues

Here’s what the bill would do:

Require the seller of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to pay the state and local excise taxes on remote sales
Regulate delivery methods, including age-verification and shipping requirements
Make cigarettes and smokeless tobacco non-mailable to consumers through the U.S. Postal Service
Give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE) authority to inspect records and inventories of remote sellers

The PACT Act improves the Jenkins Act, a law passed in 1949 to prevent bootlegging of cigarettes. The Jenkins Act was passed at a time when the federal tax on cigarettes was 7 cents per pack and state cigarette taxes ranged from zero to five cents per pack. The PACT Act would help update this law by providing law enforcement with the tools they need to address illegal cigarette and smokeless tobacco sales given today’s excise tax rates and Internet sales options.

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