Colorado Information
Tobacco Taxes
Colorado's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.200
Colorado's excise tax collection for the
fiscal year ending June 2002: $58,518,000
Sales tax on tobacco products: 2.90%
Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39
Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000
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Who Profits from
Cigarette Sales? 
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Comparing Excise Taxes on Cigarettes, Beer and Wine
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Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Colorado to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 44.4 |
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Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Colorado to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 36.1 |
Colorado Smokers' Contributions
to the State Economy - FY2002
In 2001, Colorado smokers comprised only 22.3%1 of the adult population in the state. Here is what they already pay because they choose to buy a legal product:
Smokers Pay Excise Taxes2 |
$ |
58,518,066 |
Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments3 |
$ |
97,988,866 |
|
$ |
156,506,932 |
Smokers' Economic/Tax Profile 2001
Colorado smokers' median household income |
$ |
37,379 |
Colorado nonsmokers' median household income |
$ |
46,054 |
- Working Families Pay More1
30.6% of Colorado smokers had household income LESS THAN $25,000
16.4% of Colorado smokers had household income EQUAL TO or GREATER THAN $75,000
The impact of smoker payments on the incomes of working families was more than THREE TIMES the impact on higher income smokers. Those who can afford it least pay a disproportionate percentage of their hard-earned income in smoker payments.
- Smoker excise tax/tobacco settlement payments liability in 20024
Total average paid per Colorado smoker in excise taxes |
$ |
82 |
Cost per Colorado smoker for settlement payments to Colorado |
$ |
137 |
Total annual payments to Colorado per smoker |
$ |
219 |
Total annual payments to Colorado per nonsmoker |
$ |
0 |
Colorado Smoker Facts 5
- Total smokers' payments to Colorado in FY2002 were:
- Five times as large as FY2001 state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages ($30.4 million).
- Larger than FY2001 insurance premium tax collections ($144.6 million).
- More than twice as large as FY2001 severance tax receipts ($61.9 million).
- Total smokers' payments for FY2002 were large enough to support:
- Colorado's FY2003 appropriations for the Children's Basic Health Plan ($75.6 million) AND the School for the Deaf and Blind ($9.8 million) COMBINED
OR
- The Office of Behavioral Health and Housing ($108.4 million)
OR
- The state's Trial Courts ($125.5 million).
- In 1997, smokers provided 5,029 jobs that paid an additional $4.98 million to the state in personal and corporate income taxes.6
TOTAL SMOKER CIGARETTE PAYMENTS TO COLORADO
FY2002 |
|
Per year: |
$ |
156,506,932 |
Per day: |
$ |
428,493 |
Per hour: |
$ |
17,854 |
Per minute: |
$ |
298 |
Per second: |
$ |
5 |
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CIGARETTES DON'T PAY TAXES -
COLORADO SMOKERS DO!!
1 Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
2 Orzechowski & Walker, Arlington, Virginia; from state revenue department.
3 PriceWaterhouseCooper
4 U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 state population and Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Surveillance System, 2001
5 Tax and Budget Comparisons are from the U.S. Census Bureau and State of Colorado, Joint Budget Committee, Fiscal Year 2002- 2003, Appropriations Report, online at http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/apprept.pdf.
6 American Economics Group, Inc., The U.S. Tobacco Industry in 1997: Its Economic Impact in the States.
Master Settlement Agreement Payments To Date
$324,513,170 has been paid to Colorado since the Master Settlement Agreement was signed on November 23, 1998.
Colorado
A summary of Colorado 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. |
Restricted Products |
Any cigarettes, cigars, other smoking tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, or pipe tobacco. |
Acceptable Forms of Identification |
Photographic identification that demonstrates the person as being eighteen years of age or older. |
Fine/Penalty Schedule for Selling to Minors |
Violators are subject to a fine of $200. State law also authorizes the Liquor Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue to penalize retailers who sell or permit the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products to a minor. A first violation is subject to a written warning. Subsequent violations within a 24-month period are subject to fines of $250 - $15,000. |
Affirmative Defense |
It is a defense that the retailer or retail employee was presented with and reasonably relied upon photographic ID identifying the purchaser as 18 years of age or older. It is also a defense that the retailer: (1) had adopted and enforced a written policy against selling tobacco products to minors; (2) informed employees about laws applicable to the sale of tobacco products to minors; (3) required employees to check proof of age of tobacco purchasers using photo ID; and (4) established and imposed sanctions for failure to comply with store rules. A retailer is permitted to use this defense only twice at each location within any 24-month period. |
Minor Possession |
The purchase or attempted purchase of tobacco products by minors is prohibited. Violation is a Class 2 petty offense punishable by a fine of $100 or the court, in lieu of the fine, may sentence the person to participate in a tobacco education program for the first offense. The court may allow a person to perform community service and be granted credit against the fine and court costs at the rate of five dollars for each hour of work performed for up to fifty percent of the fine and court costs.
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Sign Requirement
 |
A warning sign must be prominently displayed in any establishment where tobacco products are sold. The sign must be at least 3 inches in height and 6 inches wide and state:
WARNING: IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANY PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE TO PURCHASE CIGARETTES AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND, UPON CONVICTION, A $100.00 FINE MAY BE IMPOSED.
Failure to post the sign is punishable by a written warning for the first violation and by fines of $50 - $1,000 for subsequent violations within a 24-month period. |
Compliance Checks |
As a condition of receiving federal substance abuse block grant funds, federal law requires the State of Colorado to conduct random, unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets to determine compliance rates. The Liquor Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue coordinates the inspections. |
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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