FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Ray Carter, House Media
Capitol: (405) 557-7421
Contact: State Rep. Kevin Calvey
Capitol: (405) 557-7370
Lawmaker Questions "Border Exceptions" in Governor's Tobacco Compacts
(ATTN: for digital audio go to www.lsb.state.ok.us/house/MEDIAHME.htm)
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 9) - Special "border exceptions" allowing some
Native American smoke shops to collect only 6 cents per pack in tobacco
tax were apparently granted haphazardly across Oklahoma, a state
lawmaker said today.
State Rep. Kevin Calvey noted that Gov. Brad Henry's tobacco tax
compacts gave "border exceptions" to shops located nowhere near a state
line.
"It's hard to believe the competition from Kansas retailers is
so fierce that shops 70 miles away needed protection," said Calvey, a
Del City Republican who chairs the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.
He noted that two tribal smoke shops in Cushing, approximately
70 miles from the Kansas state line, are allowed to collect the 6-cent
border exception rate under agreements negotiated with and signed by
Henry.
The shops are located approximately 120 miles from the Arkansas
state line and 140 miles from the Texas state line.
"It's only 110 miles from the Kansas state line to Oklahoma
City, so I'm surprised the governor didn't include the metro area as
part of the 'border exception,'" Calvey said. "Clearly, the governor's
tobacco compacts are seriously flawed and are the major reason tobacco
tax collections have fallen far short of projections."
Oklahoma voters approved a dramatic 80-cents per-pack increase
in cigarette taxes last fall, raising the tax from 23 cents to $1.03 per
pack. The tax increase was supposed to generate an additional $200
million annually, but collections have fallen short of that goal for
seven consecutive months.
-30-
