Governor Phil Bredesen unveiled his Budget to the House of Representatives this week amid questions of surplus spending and a cigarette tax increase. State Rep. Beth Harwell came out in favor of a cigarette, food tax swap Monday, saying it is more “fiscally sound” and should have priority over Gov. Phil Bredesen’s education initiative. Rep. Harwell, a Republican and former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, appeared with representatives from Tennesseans for Fair Taxation and anti-hunger group MANNA at a press conference supporting the cigarette-food tax swap. The bill would cut the state’s sales tax on food from 6 percent to 3 percent while increasing the cigarette tax from 20 cents per pack to 64 cents per pack. Harwell said the bill is not a tax increase because it raises the same amount of revenue being currently taken in by the state.
Governor Bredesen responded to this proposition by calling it “voodoo” economics. He adamantly stated that this type of proposal would not be a long term viable source of revenue and was critical of the so-called cigarette, food tax swap, saying it actually makes the tax system more regressive for lower-income people. Gov. Bredesen also said on Wednesday said he wants to turn back speculation that he might want to negotiate about the amount by which he proposes to raise the cigarette tax. "That is not correct," he said. "I have put forward a plan that will pay for some essential things in education." Bredesen wants to raise more than $200 million a year by increasing the cigarette tax from 20 cents to 60 cents per pack. "I've put forward a cigarette tax (increase) of 40 cents that I think is a very reasonable and conservative amount of money," Bredesen said. "It still keeps our cigarette tax well below even national averages. "And I'm not in any sense compromising on that," he said.
In other news, Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it will manufacture its new Highlander sport utility vehicle at a new $1.3 billion assembly plant near Tupelo in the northeast part of the state. It is the auto giant's eighth vehicle assembly plant in North America. The site is about 80 miles southeast of Memphis and won out over strong competition from Arkansas and Tennessee. Many officials in Tennessee courted Toyota for a location near Chattanooga. Toyota officials said they chose the Mississippi site because they liked what they saw in the education levels and work ethic of the potential employees in that area.
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Tennessee Legislation Service
(c) 2007 M. Lee Smith Publishers
Friday, March 2, 2007 |
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES |
SB 0634*
HB 1750
(Full Text) |
Allows sale of alcohol on Sundays that are certain holidays. Allows retailers to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays between the hours of noon and eleven p.m. and on Labor Day, the Fourth of July, and New Year's Day. (S: Flinn; H: Jones U.)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: House companion bill introduced. (H: U. Jones) |
SB 0680*
HB 0787
(Full Text) |
Cannot sell beer or alcohol near drug treatment facility. Authorizes counties and cities to adopt ordinance or resolution that prohibits sale of beer and alcoholic beverages within 2,000 feet of a drug or alcohol treatment facility. (S: Bunch; H: Campfield)
Senate Status: Introduced 2/8/2007
House Status: Referred to House Local Government Subcommittee. |
SB 0795*
HB 1324
(Full Text) |
ID tags on beer kegs. Requires retailers to place identification tag on kegs containing beer that identifies the seller. Requires purchaser to pay a minimum deposit of $75 and to sign a registration form. Directs department of revenue to prescribe and supply forms for keg identification so that buyers and sellers can be held accountable for unlawful purchases. Violation is a Class C misdemeanor. (S: Burchett; H: Briley)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Referred to House Local Government Subcommittee. |
SB 1221*
HB 1194
(Full Text) |
Special occasion license for certain events. Allows charitable, nonprofit, or political organization to obtain special occasion license for event in political subdivision that has approved sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Clarifies current law that specifies approval only of the sale of alcoholic beverages at retail on the premises. (S: Cooper J.; H: Harmon)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Referred to House Local Government Subcommittee. |
SB 1223*
HB 1529
(Full Text) |
Special occasion license for charitable organization. Permits alcoholic beverage commission to issue a special occasion license to certain 501(c)(3) organizations for selling wine in closed containers for consumption on or off premises. Allows any resident of Tennessee to donate wine to such organizations. (S: Cooper J.; H: Odom)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Referred to House Local Government Subcommittee. |
SB 1224*
HB 1755
(Full Text) |
Retail license holder may offer free samples of wine. Permits entities holding a retail license or a winery license to provide free samples of wine to consumers on the premises under certain circumstances. Subjects those who violate specified requirements while providing samples to suspension of license or a fine of up to $3,000. (S: Cooper J.; H: Jones U.)
House Co-Sponsor: Tindell
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
SB 1807*
HB 2120
(Full Text) |
Any wine made from 50% TN fruit - unlimited sale. Allows any winery selling wine made from 50% of any Tennessee fruit to sell it on premises without restriction on number of gallons sold where grapes were previously the only fruit under this provision. (S: Ketron; H: Litz)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
SB 1821*
HB 1658
(Full Text) |
Registration period for beer manufacturers, distributors. Increases time period from 20 to 25 days for manufacturer or distributor of beer to register at the office of the commissioner of revenue. Broadly captioned. (S: Bunch; H: Mumpower)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
SB 1879
HB 1119
(Full Text) |
Beer distributors' registration. Increases time period during which beer distributors must register with commissioner of revenue from 20 to 25 days. (S: Jackson; H: Buck)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Caption bill held on House clerk's desk. |
SB 1977*
HB 1850
(Full Text) |
Wine direct shipper license. Creates wine direct shipper license to be issued through the alcoholic beverage commission that would allow an in-state or out-of-state entity to ship wine directly to consumers age 21 years or older in this state for personal use. (S: Stanley; H: Todd)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
SB 2072
HB 1899*
(Full Text) |
Sales of wine by certain retail food stores. Prescribes the creation of an additional class of licenses allowing the sale of wine at retail food stores. (S: Flinn; H: Marrero)
Senate Status: Introduced 2/21/2007
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
SB 2289
HB 1825*
(Full Text) |
Wholesaler's license expansion. Allows wholesaler's licenses to be granted in any municipality that has approved the sale of alcoholic beverages rather than only those with a minimum population of 100,000. (S: Burchett; H: Lundberg)
Senate Status: Introduced 2/22/2007
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
COMMERCIAL LAW |
SB 0850*
HB 1019
(Full Text) |
Processing fees charged for use of debit or credit card. Prohibits card issuer from charging a processing fee to retail merchants for the use of credit or debit cards that is more than seventy-five hundredths of one percent (0.75%) per transaction for all processing fees involving the use of a credit or debit card. (S: Kilby; H: Ferguson)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate Commerce, Labor & Agriculture.
House Status: Referred to House Commerce Utilities & Banking Subcommittee. |
TAXES BUSINESS |
SB 1394*
HB 1193
(Full Text) |
Increased tax on cigarettes and wine. Increases tax on spirits from $4.40 per gallon to $4.50 per gallon. Also increases tax on wine from $1.21 per gallon to $1.31 per gallon. Increases tax on cigarettes from 10 mills per cigarette to 1.5 cents per cigarette. (S: Crutchfield; H: Harmon)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate Finance, Ways & Means.
House Status: Referred to House Finance Budget Subcommittee. |
TAXES SALES |
SB 1802*
HB 1296
(Full Text) |
Exemptions for certain licensed wholesalers and retailers. Exempts certain sales of tangible personal property and services made by licensed wholesalers and retailers from a central warehouse or distribution point other than its principal place of business from sales and use tax. (S: Ketron; H: Sargent)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate Finance, Ways & Means.
House Status: Referred to House Finance, Ways & Means. |
SB 1974*
HB 2158
(Full Text) |
Alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on premises. Specifies that the burden of proving that a taxpayer's records are inaccurate for the purpose of projecting taxpayer sales of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption from the taxpayer's wholesale purchases shall be on the department of revenue, (S: Haynes; H: Briley)
Senate Status: Referred to Senate State & Local Government.
House Status: Introduced 2/15/2007 |
