Bill > HB300

This bill increases the excise tax rates on cigarettes sold, given, or consumed in New Mexico, raising the tax per cigarette depending on the package size, for example, from 8.3 cents to 13.3 cents for packs of twenty or twenty-five. It also amends the definition of "tobacco product" under the Tobacco Products Tax Act to include a broader range of items, such as electronic devices that deliver nicotine, and clarifies that the tax is imposed for the privilege of engaging in business to manufacture, acquire, or distribute tobacco products, as well as for their consumption. The tax rate for these tobacco products is significantly increased from twenty-five percent to sixty-six percent of their value, with payment due by the twenty-fifth of the month following the taxable event, and these changes are set to take effect on July 1, 2016.