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Bill > SB544

WI SB544

WI SB544
The cigarette excise tax and cigarettes that involve heating tobacco without combustion. (FE)

summary

Introduced
10/17/2025
In Committee
10/17/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

2025-2026 Regular Session

Bill Summary

Current law imposes an excise tax on the sale of cigarettes in this state. The tax rate varies depending on the weight and length of the cigarettes. Current law defines a XcigaretteY as any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance other than tobacco. Under current law, the tax rate on cigarettes weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, is 126 mills, plus 8 mills, on each cigarette. For cigarettes weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, the rate is 252 mills on each cigarette, plus 16.8 mills on each such cigarette that is not more than 6.75 inches in length. For cigarettes weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand that are more than 6.75 inches in length, current law imposes an additional tax at the rate of 8 mills on each such cigarette, counting each 2.75 inches of length as one cigarette. This bill modifies the excise tax on the sale of cigarettes so that current law applies to a cigarette that the bill defines as a roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or LRB-0945/1 JK:cdc 2025 - 2026 Legislature SENATE BILL 544 any substance other than tobacco that is intended for smoking by burning the tobacco. In addition, the bill imposes a separate excise tax on the sale of a cigarette that the bill defines as a roll of tobacco wrapped or contained within any substance other than tobacco that involves heating the tobacco without the combustion of the tobacco or other flammable material, not including a vapor product. Under the bill, the rate of the excise tax on a cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, is 63 mills, plus 4 mills, on each cigarette. For cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, the rate is 126 mills on each cigarette, plus 8.4 mills on each such cigarette that is not more than 6.75 inches in length. For cigarettes that involve heating without combustion weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand that are more than 6.75 inches in length, the bill imposes an additional tax at the rate of 4 mills on each such cigarette, counting each 2.75 inches of length as one cigarette. For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

AI Summary

This bill modifies Wisconsin's cigarette excise tax by creating two distinct categories of cigarettes with separate tax rates. The first category includes traditional cigarettes that are intended to be smoked by burning tobacco, which will maintain the current tax structure. The second category covers a new type of cigarette that involves heating tobacco without combustion (such as heat-not-burn tobacco products), which will be taxed at a lower rate. For traditional cigarettes weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, the tax remains at 126 mills per cigarette, plus 8 mills. For the new heated tobacco cigarettes in the same weight category, the tax will be 63 mills per cigarette, plus 4 mills. The bill also creates a mechanism for an inventory tax when tax rates change, requiring sellers to calculate and pay additional taxes on existing cigarette stocks. The changes are designed to create a legal and tax framework for emerging tobacco products that do not involve traditional combustion, reflecting technological innovations in the tobacco industry while maintaining a taxation approach that differentiates between product types. The new tax rates and definitions will take effect on the first day of the third month after the bill's publication.

Committee Categories

Budget and Finance

Sponsors (9)

Last Action

Fiscal estimate received (on 11/12/2025)
(1 Companion Bills)

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