Tobacco Taxes Arkansas's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.590 Arkansas's excise tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2002: $79,847,000 Sales tax on tobacco products: 5.13% Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39 Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000

Who Profits from Cigarette Sales? click for larger view

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Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Arkansas to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 26.3

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Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Arkansas to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 22.9

Arkansas Smokers' Contributions
to the State Economy - 2002

Smokers Pay Excise Taxes2	$	79,846,771
Smokers Pay Sales Taxes2	$	32,876,060
Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments3	$	59,189,991
	$	171,912,822

• Income

Arkansas smokers' median household income 2011

$

28,593

• Arkansas State Tax Liability for Median Income Smoker4

Annual state income tax liability for a couple	$	950
Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children	$	910

• Smoker Excise Tax/Sales Tax/Tobacco Settlement Payments Liability5

Total average paid per Arkansas smoker in excise and sales taxes	$	222
Cost per Arkansas smoker for settlement payments to Arkansas	$	116
Total annual payment to Arkansas per smoker	$	338

TOTAL SMOKER CIGARETTE PAYMENTS TO ARKANSAS   Per year: $ 171,912,822 Per day: $ 470,672 Per hour: $ 19,611 Per minute: $ 327 Per second: $ 5

1 Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
2 Orzechowski & Walker, Arlington, Virginia; from . state revenue department
3 PriceWaterhouseCooper
4 State annual income tax liability from PayBreeze software of General Programming, Inc., San Jose, California, which utilizes the Exact Calculation Method. 5 U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 state population and Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Surveillance System, 2001
6 Tax and Budget Comparisons are from Arkansas Department of Finance Administration, Arkansas Fiscal Notes, Volume XV, no. 12, June 2002, online at http://www.accessarkansas.org/dfa/fiscalnotes/0602_afn.pdf, and Arkansas Department of Finance Administration, 2002 Appropriation Schedule, online at http://www.accessarkansas.org/dfa/budget/2002appropriation.pdf.
7 American Economics Group, Inc., The U.S. Tobacco Industry in 1997: Its Economic Impact in the States..

A summary of Arkansas state law is provided below
(for specific questions regarding state law, contact your legal advisor.)

Minimum Age	Customers must be 18 years or older to purchase tobacco products. Any person who sells tobacco in any form or cigarette papers shall have the right to deny a sale to any person.
Acceptable Forms of Identification	Any documents issued by a governmental agency containing a description and/or a photograph of the person and bearing a date of birth including, without being limited to, a passport, military identification card, or driver's license.
Restricted Products	Tobacco in any form or cigarette papers.
Fine/Penalty Schedule for Selling to Minors	Employees who violate this provision will be subject to a fine not to exceed $100 per violation. Retailers shall be subject to a fine of up to $250 for the first violation; up to $500 and suspension of license for up to two days for the second violation within 48 months; up to $1,000 and suspension of license for up to 7 days for a third violation within 48 months; up to $2,000 and suspension of license for up to 14 days for a fourth or subsequent violation within 48 months; and possible license revocation for a fifth violation within 48 months. A notice of alleged violation shall be given to the retailer within 10 days.
Affirmative Defense	No penalty shall be imposed upon a retailer or employee who can establish an affirmative defense that, prior to the date of the violation, the retailer or agent or employee of the retailer furnishing the tobacco or cigarette papers reasonably relied upon proof of age which identified the person receiving the tobacco or cigarette papers as being 18 years of age or older. When reviewing a possible violation, the court shall consider whether the retailer adopted and enforced a written policy against selling cigarettes or tobacco products to minors, informed its employees of the applicable laws, required employees to verify the age of customers using photographic identification, established and imposed disciplinary sanctions for noncompliance, and that the appearance of the purchaser was such that an ordinary prudent person would believe him or her to be of legal age to make the purchase.
Minor Possession	The possession, purchase, attempted purchase or use of any form of tobacco or cigarette papers by persons under age 18 is prohibited, unless acting within the scope of employment. The use of any falsified identification, or any identification other than his or her own, for the purpose of obtaining or attempting to obtain tobacco products is prohibited. Any cigarettes or tobacco products found in the possession of a person under 18 years of age may be confiscated by a certified law enforcement officer or a school official and immediately destroyed.
Sign Requirement	A sign must be displayed in a conspicuous place indicating that the sale of tobacco products to, or purchase of, or possession of tobacco products by a person under the age of eighteen (18) years of age is prohibited by law. Failure to post signs will subject retailer to fines outlined above.
Compliance Checks	As a condition of receiving federal substance abuse block grant funds, federal law requires the State of Arkansas to conduct random, unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets to determine compliance rates. Persons under 18 years of age may be enlisted to assist an authorized agent or representative of a state or local law enforcement authority, the Arkansas Tobacco Control Board, the Arkansas Department of Health, or other state governmental agency in testing compliance with written parental or legal guardian consent. The underage purchaser, if questioned by the retailer or the agent or employee of the retailer about his or her age, shall state his or her actual age and shall present a true and correct identification if verbally asked to present it. Any failure on the part of the person under eighteen (18) years of age to provide true and correct identification, if verbally asked for it, shall be a defense. The Department of Health, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, coordinates the inspections.
Visual Characteristics of a State-Issued License	"UNDER 18 UNTIL 00-00-0000" appears in red above the photo of a license holder under the age of 18.
DISCLAIMER: This information summary is provided as a service of the Coalition, but is not intended to provide legal advice or analysis. These summaries are not intended to be complete representations of state law, which may contain additional rules and restrictions relating to tobacco products not mentioned in this summary, as well as retailing prohibitions related to matters including, but not limited to, state required training, minimum pack size, the sale of loose cigarettes and other restrictions. Retailers should not rely on these summaries as complete or accurate descriptions of applicable federal, state or local law. Users with questions about the law should seek the advice of counsel. Each state law is unique and possibly represents multiple legislative or regulatory acts. Local laws may differ. Check with local authorities for variations from state law. These summaries are not intended to be complete representations of state law.

The reprinting of this information from the Coalition, does not constitute a representation or admission by RJRT that such information is accurate, complete, or a proper characterization of the laws concerned. The Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing is a cooperative effort among retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers who share a common goal: to do all they can to prevent tobacco sales to minors.

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