2006 Ohio Revised Code - 5743.15. Cigarette licenses; cigarette tax enforcement fund.

§ 5743.15. Cigarette licenses; cigarette tax enforcement fund.
 

(A)  No person shall engage in this state in the wholesale or retail business of trafficking in cigarettes or in the business of a manufacturer or importer of cigarettes without having a license to conduct each such activity issued by a county auditor under division (B) of this section or the tax commissioner under division (E) of this section, except that on dissolution of a partnership by death, the surviving partner may operate under the license of the partnership until expiration of the license, and the heirs or legal representatives of deceased persons, and receivers and trustees in bankruptcy appointed by any competent authority, may operate under the license of the person succeeded in possession by such heir, representative, receiver, or trustee in bankruptcy. 

(B)  Each applicant for a license to engage in the wholesale or retail business of trafficking in cigarettes under this section, annually, on or before the fourth Monday of May, shall make and deliver to the county auditor of the county in which the applicant desires to engage in the wholesale or retail business of trafficking in cigarettes, upon a blank furnished by such auditor for that purpose, a statement showing the name of the applicant, each place in the county where the applicant's business is conducted, the nature of the business, and any other information the tax commissioner requires in the form of statement prescribed by the commissioner. If the applicant is a firm, partnership, or association other than a corporation, the application shall state the name and address of each of its members. If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall state the name and address of each of its officers. At the time of making the application required by this section, every person desiring to engage in the wholesale business of trafficking in cigarettes shall pay into the county treasury a license tax in the sum of two hundred dollars, or if desiring to engage in the retail business of trafficking in cigarettes, a license tax in the sum of thirty dollars for each of the first five places where the person proposes to carry on such business and twenty-five dollars for each additional place. Each place of business shall be deemed such space, under lease or license to, or under the control of, or under the supervision of the applicant, as is contained in one or more contiguous, adjacent, or adjoining buildings constituting an industrial plant or a place of business operated by, or under the control of, one person, or under one roof and connected by doors, halls, stairways, or elevators, which space may contain any number of points at which cigarettes are offered for sale, provided that each additional point at which cigarettes are offered for sale shall be listed in the application. 
 

Upon receipt of the application and exhibition of the county treasurer's receipt showing the payment of the tax, the county auditor shall issue to the applicant a license for each place of business designated in the application, authorizing the applicant to engage in such business at such place for one year commencing on the fourth Monday of May. Companies operating club or dining cars or other cars upon which cigarettes are sold shall obtain licenses at railroad terminals within the state, under such rules as are prescribed by the commissioner. The form of the license shall be prescribed by the commissioner. A duplicate license may be obtained from the county auditor upon payment of a fifty cent fee if the original license is lost, destroyed, or defaced. When an application is filed after the fourth Monday of May, the license tax required to be paid shall be proportioned in amount to the remainder of the license year, except that it shall not be less than one fifth of the whole amount in any one year. 
 

The holder of a wholesale or retail dealer's cigarette license may transfer the license to a place of business within the same county other than that designated on the license or may assign the license to another person for use in the same county on condition that the licensee or assignee, whichever is applicable, make application to the county auditor therefor, upon forms approved by the commissioner and the payment of a fee of one dollar into the county treasury. 

(C) (1)  The wholesale cigarette license tax revenue collected under this section shall be distributed as follows: 

(a) Thirty-seven and one-half per cent shall be paid upon the warrant of the county auditor into the treasury of the municipal corporation or township in which the place of business for which the tax revenue was received is located; 

(b) Fifteen per cent shall be credited to the general fund of the county; 

(c) Forty-seven and one-half per cent shall be paid into the cigarette tax enforcement fund created by division (C) of this section. 

(2) The revenue collected from the thirty dollar tax imposed upon the first five places of business of a person engaged in the retail business of trafficking in cigarettes shall be distributed as follows: 

(a) Sixty-two and one-half per cent shall be paid upon the warrant of the county auditor into the treasury of the municipal corporation or township in which the places of business for which the tax revenue was received are located; 

(b) Twenty-two and one-half per cent shall be credited to the general fund of the county; 

(c) Fifteen per cent shall be paid into the cigarette tax enforcement fund created by division (C) of this section. 

(3) The remainder of the revenues and fines collected under this section and the penal laws relating to cigarettes shall be distributed as follows: 

(a) Three-fourths shall be paid upon the warrant of the county auditor into the treasury of the municipal corporation or township in which the place of business, on account of which the revenues and fines were received, is located; 

(b) One-fourth shall be credited to the general fund of the county. 

(D)  There is hereby created within the state treasury the cigarette tax enforcement fund for the purpose of providing funds to assist in paying the costs of enforcing sections 1333.11 to 1333.21 and Chapter 5743. of the Revised Code. 
 

The portion of cigarette license tax revenues received by a county auditor during the annual application period that ends before the fourth Monday in May which is required to be deposited in the cigarette tax enforcement fund shall be sent to the treasurer of state by the thirtieth day of June each year. The portion of license tax money received by each county auditor after the fourth Monday in May which is required to be deposited in the cigarette tax enforcement fund shall be sent to the treasurer of state by the thirty-first day of December. 

(E) (1)  Every person who desires to engage in the business of a manufacturer or importer of cigarettes shall, annually, on or before the fourth Monday of May, make and deliver to the tax commissioner, upon a blank furnished by the commissioner for that purpose, a statement showing the name of the applicant, the nature of the applicant's business, and any other information required by the commissioner. If the applicant is a firm, partnership, or association other than a corporation, the applicant shall state the name and address of each of its members. If the applicant is a corporation, the applicant shall state the name and address of each of its officers. 

Upon receipt of the application, the commissioner shall issue to the applicant a license authorizing the applicant to engage in the business of manufacturer or importer, whichever the case may be, for one year commencing on the fourth Monday of May. 

(2) The issuing of a license under division (E)(1) of this section to a manufacturer does not excuse a manufacturer from the certification process required under section 1346.05 of the Revised Code. A manufacturer who is issued a license under division (E)(1) of this section and who is not listed on the directory required under section 1346.05 of the Revised Code shall not be permitted to sell cigarettes in this state other than to a licensed cigarette wholesaler for sale outside this state. Such a manufacturer shall provide documentation to the commissioner evidencing that the cigarettes are legal for sale in another state. 

(3) The tax commissioner may adopt rules necessary to administer division (E) of this section. 
 

HISTORY: GC § 5894-5; 114 v 805, § 5; 116 v PtII, 172; 122 v 247; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53; 126 v 699; 128 v 1096 (Eff 6-8-59); 134 v H 511 (Eff 1-1-74); 142 v H 171. Eff 7-1-87; 151 v H 66, § 101.01, eff. 6-30-05; 151 v H 530, § 101.01, eff. 3-30-06.
 

The effective date is set by § 818.03 of 151 v H 530. 

The effective date is set by § 612.21 of 151 v H 66. 

 

Effect of Amendments

151 v H 530, effective March 30, 2006, rewrote (E)(2). 

151 v H 66, effective June 30, 2005, redesignated (A) as (A) and (B) and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; rewrote (A) and present (B); and added (E).