Lawmakers Advance New Sales Tax

By John Celock

The New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed a series of anti-smoking bills Monday, including increased bans on smoking in state parks an a sales tax on e-cigarettes.

Following roughly two hours of testimony the Democratic-controlled committee passed legislation which would impose a 75 percent sales tax on wholesale sales of e-cigarettes, one of the highest tax rates imposes on the device nationally. Opponents of the sales tax argued it would harm small business and smoking prevention programs.

Ryan Bunting from the New Jersey Vapor Retail Coalition told senators that after 20 years of smoking and a series of attempts to quit, e-cigarettes have been a way to get him off of tobacco. He noted that this included a series of attempts while he was in the Marine Corps and used military anti-smoking programs.

“I started smoking at a very young age and I continued smoking because I was addicted,” Bunting said. “I tried to quit with little and no success.”

Bunting’s testimony was similar to many advocates in favor of e-cigarettes, who described the devices, which emit vapor as helping reduce cigarette usage. Bunting now operates his own e-cigarette business, noting that many e-cigarettes retailers are “young entrepreneurs” who would lose business with a large sales tax.

Opponents of the sales tax legislation focused on the smoking prevention and business issues. They noted that with a large sales tax, consumers would likely go to neighboring states to make e-cigarettes purchases and hurt New Jersey’s small business community. They noted that this would not only include e-cigarette dealers but also gas stations, pharmacies and supermarkets that sell the devices.

Representatives from the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity told senators that the bill would have a negative impact on the state’s overall business climate, citing the New Jersey’s existing tax rates, along with limiting personal freedoms on purchases. Opponents told senators that only Minnesota has a higher tax at 95 percent.

Supporters of the tax bill noted that it would provide increased revenues, along with trying to reduce e-cigarette usage as part of a smoking prevention program for the state.

During the debate on the smoking ban at state owned beaches and parks, advocates told the committee it would reduce second hand smoke along with helping the environment. Karen Blumenthal, the executive director of Global Advisor on Smoke Free Policy, said that 240 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities already have smoke free park laws in place. She noted the dangers of second hand smoke.

Jeff Tittle, the executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, focused on environmental concerns, including litter. He said Sierra Club volunteers routinely pick up discarded cigarettes along the Jersey Shore during beach clean up programs, along with finding cigarettes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Tittle noted that discarded cigarettes in state parks have become fire hazards particularly with picnic tables and historic barns in the parks.

“We’re going to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars restoring our beaches because of Hurricane Sandy we should not turn it in to ashtrays,” he said.

Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark) objected to portions of the legislation that included e-cigarettes as part of the park and beach ban. He noted that since the devices emit vapor instead of smoke, it should not be a part of the plan.


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