NEWS
Crippling
%
Sales tax
Crippling 40% Pennvsylvania sales tax sees stores
close as businesses cant afford to carry on trading
Is this ‘death warrant tax’ the most
draconian vaping law ever passed?
It is a law which has been met with
stunned disbelief followed by
widespread anger.
The new law which imposes a 40% tax
on vaping products sounds bad enough
on first glance but is even worse when
one gets into the detail.
In particular, a clause which requires
every vape shop in the state to pay a
40% ‘floor tax’ on the wholesale value
of their entire stock is said to be driving
many vape store owners out of business.
If the intention of this new tax was to
raise much-needed tax revenue from the
vaping community it has horribly, and
quite predictably, backfired.
Instead of tapping into a profitable
income stream the tax is so high that
vape store owners are unable to pay it
and are shutting up shop as a result.
E-cigarette Forum founder Oliver
Kershaw described the tax measures
as ‘desperately sad’ and wrote: “Article
12-A of HB 1198 -- the revenue portion of
Pennsylvania’s 2017 budget -- is a
death warrant.
“The tax imposed is so high, so sudden,
and so poorly considered that few vapor
retailers are likely to survive. There is
no loophole or bright side for consumers
either. In fact, the state has managed to
criminalize possession of vapor products
for which the tax has not been paid.
“This is, without a doubt, one of, if not
the, worst pieces of vapor tax legislation
we have seen.”
10 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE USA
Protest signs: Fat Cat Vapor Shop
Chris Hughes, president of
Pennsylvania’s Smoke-Free Alternatives
Trade Association chapter, has been
amongst the most vocal critics of the new
“ The tax imposed is so
high, so sudden, and
so poorly considered
that few vapor
retailers are likely
to survive .”
law. He has good reason for his anger…
as a direct result of the legislation, his
Fat Cat Vapor Shop in Montoursville is
going out of business.
Chris broke the news to his loyal
customers on the store’s Facebook page
when he wrote:
“The Pennsylvania legislature that is led
by so called “conservative” Republicans,
passed an abusive 40% tax on vapor
products, that will absolutely wreck this
young and extremely beneficial industry.
“This law imposes a 40% wholesale