As state lawmakers consider new regulations to crack down on vaping in Idaho, two retailers are asking them to go easy on any new taxes.
Jacksons Food Stores, Tobacco Connection and Big Smoke, which are under the same ownership, testified before legislators Tuesday that they should tax vaping products at three cents per milliliter.
That would be the lowest rate in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.
Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin currently impose the lowest per-milliliter tax at five cents. The average is seven cents.
Other states tax vaping products based on their wholesale price, or a combination of the two approaches.
Three cents per milliliter, said Doug Ball, who oversees tobacco products at Jacksons, is “not excessive.” “
Based on the last 12 months of sales at Jacksons this would amount to over $85,000 in tax revenue from our stores alone,” Ball said.
That money, he said, could then be used to enforce a new state registry for vaping products that would be updated monthly with items outlawed by the Food and Drug Administration.
“I think there’s ample money there that could pay for the enforcement of this easier Idaho solution,” Ball said.
Idaho is one of 18 states that doesn’t tax vaping products. All other tobacco products are taxed at 40% of the wholesale price.
Lawmakers last tried to tax e-cigarettes in 2023, but the bill never got a hearing.
The committee considering the new regulations heard proposals from tobacco lobbyists, public health officials and others earlier in September.
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