October 9, 2015      1:17 PM
Supreme Court picks up small tobacco challenge
It could put tens of millions of dollars in revenue in limbo
The
Texas
Supreme Court has agreed to take up the so-called “small tobacco”
challenge, a decision that could put tens of millions of dollars in revenue
into limbo.
The
tobacco industry resolved its long-standing legal dispute with 46 states back
in 1998. Under the master
settlement agreement, the five largest tobacco companies agreed to curtail
advertising to youth and paid out $10 billion a year, indefinitely, as an
acknowledgment of the healthcare costs around cigarette smoking.
Rep.
John Otto’s House Bill 3536 added new
tobacco companies to the settlement in 2013 in order “to recover health care
costs to the state from non-settling manufacturers.” Small tobacco argued it
was never party to the original lawsuit, did not commit the same legal
infractions and should not be taxed as such.
Former
Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch,
who represents the Texas Small Tobacco Coalition and Global Tobacco, outlined the
ills of big tobacco in his brief
on merits and called Otto’s bill a violation of equal and uniform taxation.
By Kimberly Reeves
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