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Machines that allow people to roll their own cigarettes are gaining in popularity as a less expensive alternative to buying cigarette packs. In Tennessee, smokers who roll their own cigarettes avoid paying the state’s 62 cents per-pack tax, as well as the $1.01 per-pack federal tax.
According to The Tennessean, a company called RYO Machine Rental LLC provides about 1,500 roll-your-own machines in 38 states. The newspaper reports the U.S. Department of the Treasury has been in a legal dispute with the company for almost a year over whether owners of shops with the machines should be considered cigarette manufacturers. If shops were given this designation, they would have to obtain a permit with the federal Tax and Trade Bureau, which would require them to pay additional taxes. The case is currently pending in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Published
September 2011