Minnesota Information
MN Senate Members in Alphabetical Order
MN Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Citizen’s Tool Kit
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.pdf
Take Back Your Elections
MN Radio Stations
Minneapolis City Council e-Mail Addresses info@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, mayor@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, paul.ostrow@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, scott.benson@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, info@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, barbara.johnson@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, info@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, Natalie.JohnsonLee@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, Robert.Lilligren@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, Dan.Niziolek@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, sandra.colvin.roy@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, don.samuels@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, gary.schiff@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, paul.zerby@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, dean.zimmermann@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, john.moir@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, cityclerk@ci.minneapolis.mn.us Ramsey County Commissioners e-Mail Addresses Paul.Kirkwold@co.ramsey.mn.us, Jim.McDonough@co.ramsey.mn.us, tony.bennett@co.ramsey.mn.us, dino.guerin@co.ramsey.mn.us, susan.m.haigh@co.ramsey.mn.us, rafael.e.ortega@co.ramsey.mn.us, victoria.reinhardt@co.ramsey.mn.us, janice.rettman@co.ramsey.mn.us, Jan.wiessner@co.ramsey.mn.us, Paul.Kirkwold@co.ramsey.mn.us, elections@co.ramsey.mn.us Let these commissioners know we do not want a smoking ban!
Tobacco Taxes
Minnesota's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.480
Minnesota's excise tax collection for the
fiscal year ending June 2002: $169,428,000
Sales tax on tobacco products: 6.50%
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 |
Comparing Excise Taxes on Cigarettes, Beer and Wine
click for larger view | Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Minnesota to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 57.7
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click for larger view | Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Minnesota to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 80.8
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Minnesota Smokers' Contributions
to the State Economy - 2004
In 2003, Minnesota smokers comprised only 21.1% of the adult population in the state. Here is what they already pay because they choose to buy a legal product:
- Smokers Pay Excise Taxes $177,195,000
- Smokers Pay Sales Taxes $ 80,675,000
- Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments $168,500,000
$426,370,000
Smokers’ Economic/Tax Profile 2003
· Income
Ø Minnesota smokers’ median household income $45,348
Ø Minnesota nonsmokers’ median household income $54,625
Those who can afford it least pay a disproportionate percentage of their hard-earned income in smoker payments.
· Smoker excise tax/sales tax/tobacco settlement payments liability in FY2004
Ø Total average paid per Minnesota smoker in excise and sales taxes $337
Ø Cost per Minnesota smoker for settlement payments to Minnesota $220
Total annual payments to Minnesota per smoker $557 Total annual payments to Minnesota per nonsmoker $0
Minnesota Smoker Facts
· Total smokers’ payments in Minnesota in FY2004 were:
Ø More than six times larger than estimated FY2004 liquor, wine, and beer taxes of $69.9 million.
Ø Larger than estimated FY2004 motor vehicle sales tax revenues of $274.7 million.
Ø Nearly five times larger than estimated FY2004 estate taxes of $90.1 million.
Ø Nine times larger than estimated FY2004 lottery revenues of $46.9 million.
· Minnesota FY2004 smoker payments were large enough to support FY2004 expenditures for:
Ø The Health Department ($381 million)
Ø The Pollution Control Agency ($111.2 million) AND the Natural Resources Department ($286.9 million)
Ø The Employment and Economic Development Department ($367.8 million)
Ø The Renters Tax Credit and Property Tax Refund ($273.2 million) AND Aid to Police and Fire ($77.5 million).
TOTAL SMOKER CIGARETTE PAYMENTS TO MINNESOTA FY2004Per year: $426,370,000Per day: $ 1,167,337Per hour: $ 48,639Per minute: $ 811Per second: $ 14 |
CIGARETTES DON’T PAY TAXES – MINNESOTA SMOKERS DO!!
2002
Minnesota smokers comprise only 22.2%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 | $ | 169,427,723 | | Smokers Pay Sales Taxes2 | $ | 77,623,456 | | Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments3 | $ | 362,742,011 | | | $ | 609,793,190 |
Smokers' Economic/Tax Profile
| Minnesota smokers' median income 20011 | $ | 42,831 |
- Minnesota State Tax Liability for Median Income Smoker4
| Annual state income tax liability for a couple | $ | 1,789 | | Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children | $ | 1,390 |
- Smoker Excise Tax/Sales Tax/Tobacco Settlement Payments Liability5
| Total average paid per Minnesota smoker in excise and sales taxes | $ | 303 | | Cost per Minnesota smoker for settlement payments to Minnesota | $ | 445 | | Total annual payment to Minnesota per smoker | $ | 748 |
Minnesota Smoker Facts6 - Total smokers' payments in FY2002 to Minnesota were more than ten times larger than estimated FY2002 state alcohol excise taxes of $59 million.
- Smokers' payments were 21 times larger than estimated FY2002 lottery revenues of $28.8 million.
- Smokers' payments were larger than estimated FY2002 motor vehicle sales tax revenues of $418 million.
- Smokers' payments were twice as large as statewide estimated FY2002 property taxes of $296 million.
- Total smokers' payments for FY2002 were large enough to support Minnesota's FY2002 budgeted amounts for: Family and early childhood education ($262.8 million); OR the Department of Corrections ($400 million); OR aid to local governments ($413.6 million); OR the Pollution Control Agency ($124.3 million) AND the Zoological Garden ($19.2 million) AND Minnesota District Courts ($118.5 million) AND aid to police and fire departments ($62.3 million) combined.
- In 1997, smokers provided 8,321 jobs that paid an additional $13.8 million to the state in personal and corporate income taxes.7
| TOTAL SMOKER CIGARETTE PAYMENTS TO MINNESOTA |
| Per year: | $ | 609,793,190 | | Per day: | $ | 1,669,523 | | Per hour: | $ | 69,563 | | Per minute: | $ | 1,159 | | Per second: | $ | 19 |
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CIGARETTES DON'T PAY TAXES -
MINNESOTA SMOKERS DO!!
- Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
- Orzechowski & Walker, Arlington, Virginia; latest estimates from state revenue department
- PriceWaterhouseCooper
- State annual income tax liability from PayBreeze software of General Programming, Inc., San Jose, California, which utilizes the Exact Calculation Method.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2001 state population estimate and Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Surveillance System, 2001
- Tax and Budget Comparisons are from the State of Minnesota, Department of Finance, "Consolidated Fund Statement, FY 2000 - 2005, End of 2002 Legislative Session," July 15, 2002, online at http://www.budget.state.mn.us/budget/summary/2002/consolidated_funds.pdf. Expenditures and revenues reflect budgeted amounts as enacted in May of 2002.
- American Economics Group, Inc., The U.S. Tobacco Industry in 1997: Its Economic Impact in the States.
Separately Settled Payments To Date $1,226,265,000 in calculated, estimated payments have been paid to Minnesota as part of a separate settlement agreement. The provisions of that settlement were similar to those in individual settlements previously reached with the four states (Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi and Texas) that did not participate in the Master Settlement Agreement.
A summary of Minnesota 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. Distribution of tobacco products by an Indian to an Indian minor is permitted if the tobacco is furnished as a part of a traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.
| | Restricted Products | All tobacco products. Specifically, cigarettes; cigars; cheroots; stogies; perique; granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and other smoking; snuff; snuff flour; cavendish; plug and twist tobacco; fine cut and other chewing; shorts; refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings and sweepings of tobacco; and other kinds and forms of tobacco, prepared in such manner as to be suitable for chewing or smoking in a pipe or other tobacco-related devices such as cigarette papers or pipes for smoking.
Tobacco-related devices such as cigarette papers or pipes are also restricted. | | Acceptable Forms of Identification | A valid driver's license or identification card issued by Minnesota, another state, or a province of Canada, and including the photograph and date of birth of the licensed person; a valid military identification card issued by the United States Department of Defense; a valid passport issued by the United States; or in the case of a foreign national, by a valid passport. | | Fine/Penalty Schedule for Selling to Minors | Violators will be guilty of a misdemeanor for the first violation and a gross misdemeanor for subsequent violations within a five-year period, punishable by a fine of $3,000. Furnishing tobacco or tobacco-related devices to a person under the age of 18 years is a misdemeanor for the first violation and a gross misdemeanor for all subsequent violations. If a licensee or employee of a licensee sells tobacco to a minor, a licensee may be charged with an administrative penalty of $75 for the first violation, $200 for the second violation within 24 months, and $250 and the suspension of tobacco license for the third violation within 24 months. An employee who sells tobacco to a person under age 18 will be charged with an administrative penalty of $50. | | Affirmative Defense | It is an affirmative defense that the defendant reasonably and in good faith relied on proof of age. | | Minor Possession | The purchase, attempted purchase, possession, and/or use of by minors is prohibited. Violators are guilty of a petty misdemeanor and subject to a $100 fine, community service, or drug awareness education, among other penalties. A person under 18 years of age who purchases or attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related devices using a driver’s license, permit, Minnesota ID card or any type of false identification to misrepresent their age is guilty of a misdemeanor. Violators shall also have their license suspended for 90 days, if the minor used a license, Minnesota identification card or any type of false identification to purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco or if a person knowingly permitted a minor to use their license, Minnesota identification card or other type of identification to purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco. A retailer may seize identification if the retailer has reasonable grounds to believe that the form of identification has been altered or falsified or is being used to violate any law. The retailer must deliver the seized ID to a law enforcement agency within 24 hours.
| | Compliance Checks | As a condition of receiving federal substance abuse block grant funds, federal law requires the state of Minnesota to conduct random, unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets to determine compliance rates. Minors, age 15 - 17, may be used in these inspections under the direct supervision of law enforcement officials with prior written consent of a parent or guardian. | | 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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Dumb Laws of Minnesota The land of 10,000 lakes declares mosquitos a public nuisance.
It is illegal to stand around any building without a good reason to be there.
A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head.
All men driving motorcycles must wear shirts.
Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head.
All bathtubs must have feet.
Cottage Grove: Residents of even numbered addresses may not water their plants on odd-numbered days excluding the thirty first day where it applies.
Cottage Grove: Airplanes may not be landed in city parks.
Hibbing: It shall be the duty of any policeman or any other officer to enforce the provisions of this Section, and if any cat is found running at large, or which is found in any street, alley or public place, it shall be the duty of any policeman or other officer of the city to kill such cat.
Minneapolis: Red cars may not drive down Lake Street.
Minnetonka: Driving a truck with dirty tires is considered a public nuisance.
Minnetonka: Placing tacks on a sidewalk is considered a public nuisance.
Minnetonka: Any person who persuades another to enter a massage therapist business after 11:00 PM is guilty of a misdemeanor.
St. Cloud: Hamburgers may not be eaten on Sundays.
Virginia: You're not allowed to park your elephant on Main Street. MINNESOTA SLOGANS
- I Came, I Thawed, I Transferred....
- 10,000 Lakes And No Sharks!
- Minnesota - Home Of The Mispi-Mispp-Missispp (Where The Damn River Starts!)
- Why Minnesota? To Protect Ontario From Iowa
- Many Are Cold, But Few Are Frozen
- There Are Only 3 Things You Can Grow In Minnesota: Colder, Older, & Fatter
- Land Of 2 Seasons: Winter Is Coming, Winter Is Here
- Minnesota - Home Of The Blonde Hair And Blue Ears
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