Bill
Bill > SB773
PA SB773
PA SB773In cigarette sales and licensing, further providing for definitions and providing for presumed cost of doing business by retailer.
summary
Introduced
05/22/2025
05/22/2025
In Committee
05/22/2025
05/22/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2025-2026 Regular Session
Bill Summary
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled "An act relating to the finances of the State government; providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint Underwriting Association, for entertainment business financial management firms, for private dam financial assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof, and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth, authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every department, board, commission, and officer of the State government, every political subdivision of the State, and certain officers of such subdivisions, every person, association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof, every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the Commonwealth," in cigarette sales and licensing, further providing for definitions and providing for presumed cost of doing business by retailer.
AI Summary
This bill modifies the existing law regarding cigarette sales and licensing by updating the definition of "cost of the retailer" and establishing a new presumed cost of doing business for cigarette retailers. Specifically, the bill changes the presumptive percentage for a retailer's cost of doing business from a fixed seven percent to a graduated schedule that increases over time: starting at nine percent from July to December 2026, then rising to ten percent in 2027, eleven percent in 2028, and twelve percent from 2029 onward. The bill allows retailers to establish a lower cost of doing business for up to twelve months by providing satisfactory proof, after which they would revert to the presumptive percentage. When retailers purchase cigarettes directly from manufacturers without using a wholesaler, they are considered to be acting as stamping agents, wholesalers, and retailers, and must follow the markup provisions accordingly. The changes aim to provide a more dynamic and potentially more accurate method of calculating the cost of doing business for cigarette retailers, with the presumed percentage gradually increasing over several years. The act is set to take effect immediately upon passage.
Committee Categories
Budget and Finance
Sponsors (3)
Last Action
Referred to Finance (on 05/22/2025)
bill text
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...