[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3081 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3081

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax rate parity 
          among all tobacco products, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2012

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                               on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax rate parity 
          among all tobacco products, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING EXCISE TAX EQUITY AMONG ALL TOBACCO PRODUCT TAX 
              RATES.

    (a) Tax Parity for Pipe Tobacco and Roll-Your-Own Tobacco.--Section 
5701(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
``$2.8311 cents'' and inserting ``$24.78''.
    (b) Tax Parity for Smokeless Tobacco.--
            (1) Section 5701(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$1.51'' and 
                inserting ``$13.42'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``50.33 cents'' 
                and inserting ``$5.37''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Smokeless tobacco sold in discrete single-use 
        units.--On discrete single-use units, $50.33 per thousand.''.
            (2) Section 5702(m) of such Code is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or chewing 
                tobacco'' and inserting ``chewing tobacco, or discrete 
                single-use unit'';
                    (B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by inserting ``that 
                is not a discrete single-use unit'' before the period 
                in each such paragraph;
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Discrete single-use unit.--The term `discrete single-
        use unit' means any product containing tobacco that--
                    ``(A) is not intended to be smoked; and
                    ``(B) is in the form of a lozenge, tablet, pill, 
                pouch, dissolvable strip, or other discrete single-use 
                or single-dose unit.''.
    (c) Tax Parity for Large Cigars.--Paragraph (2) of section 5701(a) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is 
amended by striking ``but not more than 40.26 cents per cigar'' and 
inserting ``but not less than 5.033 cents per cigar and not more than 
100.66 cents per cigar''.
    (d) Tax Parity for Roll-Your-Own Tobacco and Certain Processed 
Tobacco.--Subsection (o) of section 5702 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended by inserting ``, or processed tobacco removed or 
transferred to a person other than a person with a permit provided 
under section 5713'' after ``wrappers thereof''.
    (e) Clarifying Tobacco Product Definition and Tax Rate.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (c) of section 5702 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Tobacco Products.--The term `tobacco products' means--
            ``(1) cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, 
        and roll-your-own tobacco, and
            ``(2) any other product containing tobacco that is intended 
        or expected to be consumed.''.
            (2) Tax rate.--Section 5701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(i) Other Tobacco Products.--Any product described in section 
5702(c)(2) or not otherwise described under this section, including any 
product that has been determined to be a tobacco product by the Food 
and Drug Administration through its authorities under the Family 
Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, shall be taxed at a level 
of tax equivalent to the tax rate for cigarettes on an estimated per 
use basis as determined by the Secretary.''.
    (f) Effective Dates.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amendments made by this section shall apply to articles removed 
        (as defined in section 5702(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986) after the last day of the month which includes the date 
        of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Discrete single-use units and processed tobacco.--The 
        amendments made by subsections (b)(1)(C), (b)(2), and (d) shall 
        apply to articles removed (as defined in section 5702(j) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986) after the date that is 6 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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